A  BRIEF  BIBLE  HISTORY 

A  SURVEY  OF 
THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS 


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PHILADELPHIA 

THE  WESTMINSTER  PRESS 

1922 


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A  BRIEF"^ 
BIBLE  HISTORY 

A  SURVEY  OF  THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENTS 


JAMES  OSCAR  BOYD,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 

AND 

JOHN   GRESHAM   ]\L\CHEN,  D.D. 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE  WESTMINSTER  PRESS 

1922 


Copyright,  1922,  by 

The  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 

Publication  and  Sabbath  School  Work 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Contents 


Section  I 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  OLD 

TESTAMENT  TIMES 

Lesson  Page 

I.  Before  Abraham 7 

11.  The  Patriarchs 10 

HI.  Egyptian  Bondage  and  Deliverance 13 

IV.  Moses  as  Leader  and  Lawgiver 16 

V.  The  Conquest  and  Settlement  of  Canaan 19 

VI.  The  Period  of  the  Judges 22 

VII.  Samuel  and  Saul:  Prophecy  and  Monarchy 25 

VIII.  David  and  Solomon;  Psahns  and  Wisdom 28 

IX.  The  Ivingdom  of  Israel 31 

X.  The  Ivingdom  of  Judah,  to  Hezekiah 34 

XL  Judah,  from  Hezekiah  to  the  Exile 37 

XII.  The  Exile  and  the  Restoration 40 

XIIL  The  Jewish  State  Under  Persia 43 

XIV.  Israel's  Religious  Life 46 

XV.  "The  Coming  One" 49 

Section  II 

THE   LIFE   OF   CHRIST   AND   THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF 
THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  TESTAMENT  TIMES 

I.  The  Preparation 55 

II.  The  Commg  of  the  Lord 58 

III.  The  Baptism. 61 

IV.  The  Early  Judean  Ministry 64 

V.  The  Beginning  of  the  GaUlaean  Ministry 67 

VI.  The  Period  of  Popularity 70 

VII.  The  Turning  Point 73 

VIII.  Jesus  as  Messiah 76 

IX.  The  Prediction  of  the  Cross 79 

X.  The  Last  Journeys 83 

XL  Teaching  in  the  Temple 86 

XII.  The  Crucifixion 89 

XIIL  The  Resurrection 93 


CONTENTS 


Lesson  Page 

XIV.  The  Beginnings  of  the  Christian  Church 96 

XV.  The  First  Persecution 99 

XVI.  The  Conversion  of  Paul 102 

XVII.  The  Gospel  Given  to  the  Gentiles 105 

XVIII.  The  First  Missionary  Journey  and  the  Apostolic  Council. .   109 

XIX.  The  Second  Missionary  Journey 112 

XX.  The    Third    Missionary    Journey.      The    Epistle   to    the 

Galatians 115 

XXI.  The   Third   Missionary  Journey.      The   Epistles   to   the 

Corinthians  and  to  the  Romans 118 

XXII.  The  First  Imprisonment  of  Paul 122 

XXIII.  The  Close  of  the  Apostohc  Age 125 


Introduction 

This  book  surveys  the  history  of  God's  redeeming  grace.  It  reviews 
Old  Testament  history,  disclosing  the  stream  of  God's  redeeming  pur- 
poses flowing  down  through  the  older  times.  It  reviews  New  Testament 
history,  disclosing  the  broadening  and  deepening  of  that  purpose  for  us 
men  and  for  mankind  in  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
Church. 

The  chapters  included  in  this  book  appear  also  as  a  part  of  Teaching 
the  Teacher,  a  First  Book  in  Teacher  Training,  and  are  issued  in  this 
form  to  supply  the  demand  for  a  brief  Bible  history,  for  popular  reading. 

Harold  McA.  Robinson. 


SECTION  I 

The  Development  of  the  Church  in  Old 
Testament  Times 

By  James  Oscar  Boyd,  Ph.D.,  D.D. 


LESSON  I 
Before  Abraham 

Genesis,  Chapters  1  to  11 

That  part  of  the  globe  which  comes  within  the  view  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  mostly  the  region,  about  fifteen  hundred  miles  square, 
lying  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Asia,  the  southeastern  part  of  Europe, 
and  the  northeastern  part  of  Africa.  This  is  where  the  three  conti- 
nents of  the  Eastern  Hemisphere  come  together.  Roughly  speaking  it 
includes  Asia  Minor,  Mesopotamia,  S>Tia,  Palestine,  Arabia,  and 
Egypt,  with  a  fringe  of  other  lands  and  islands  stretching  beyond 
them. 

The  heart  of  all  this  territory  is  that  little  strip  of  land,  lying  be- 
tween the  desert  on  the  east  and  the  Mediterranean  Sea  on  the  west, 
knowTi  as  Syria  and  Palestine.  It  is  some  four  hundred  miles  in  length 
and  varies  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  in  width.  It  has  been  well 
called  "the  bridge  of  the  world,"  for  like  a  bridge  it  joins  the  largest 
continent,  Asia,  to  the  next  largest,  Africa.  And  as  Palestine  binds  the 
lands  together,  so  the  famous  Suez  Canal  at  its  southern  end  now  binds 
the  seas  together.  To-day,  therefore,  as  in  all  the  past,  this  spot  is  the 
crossroads  of  the  nations. 

Palestine  has  long  been  called  the  "Holy  Land,"  because  it  is  the 
scene  of  most  of  the  Bible  story.  Yet  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  that  Bible  story  is  hmited  to  Palestine.  The  book  of  Genesis 
does  not  introduce  the  reader  to  Canaan  (as  it  calls  Palestine)  until 
he  has  reached  its  twelfth  chapter.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  history 
of  God's  people  begins  with  Abraham,  and  it  was  Abraham  who  went 
at  God's  bidding  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  The  story  of  Abraham  will 
be  taken  up  in  the  second  lesson;  but  the  Bible  puts  before  the  hfe  of 
Abraham  all  the  familiar  story  that  lies  in  the  first  eleven  chapters  of 
Genesis  and  that  forms  the  background  for  the  figures  of  Abraham  and 
his  descendants. 

The  location  of  this  background  is  the  basin  of  the  Tigris  and  Eu- 
phrates Rivers.  These  two  streams  are  mentioned  in  Gen.  2  :  14  (the 
Tigris  under  the  form  "Hiddekel")  as  the  third  and  fourth  "heads" 


8  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

of  the  "river  that  went  out  of  Eden  to  water  the  garden"  in  which 
our  first  parents  dwelt.  The  region  is  at  the  southern  end  of  what  is 
now  called  Mesopotamia.  At  the  northern  end  of  this  river  basin 
towers  the  superb  mountain  known  as  Mount  Ararat.  But  the  "moun- 
tains of  Ararat,"  mentioned  in  Gen.  8  : 4  as  the  place  where  Noah's 
ark  rested  when  the  waters  of  the  Flood  had  subsided,  are  no  particular 
peak,  but  are  the  highlands  of  Kurdistan,  which  in  ancient  times  were 
called  Urartu  (Ararat).  Between  Kurdistan  on  the  north  and  the 
Persian  Gulf  on  the  south,  the  highlands  of  Persia  on  the  east  and  the 
great  Syrian  Desert  on  the  west,  occurred  the  earliest  drama  of  human 
history. 

That  drama  was  a  tragedy.  It  became  a  tragedy  because  of  man's 
sin.  The  wonderful  poem  of  creation  in  Gen.,  ch.  1,  has  for  the  refrain 
of  its  six  stanzas,  "God  saw  that  it  was  good."  Best  of  all  was  man, 
the  last  and  highest  of  God's  works — man,  made  in  "his  own  im- 
age," after  his  likeness.  On  the  sixth  "day,"  when  God  made  man, 
God  said  of  his  work,  "Behold,  it  was  very  good."  More  than  that: 
through  the  kindness  of  God  man  is  put  in  a  "garden,"  and  is 
ordered  to  "dress  it  and  to  keep  it."  Ch.  2  :  15.  Adam  sees  his  superi- 
ority to  the  rest  of  the  animal  kingdom,  over  which  he  is  given  "do- 
minion." He  is  thus  prepared  to  appreciate  the  woman  as  a  helpmeet 
for  him,  so  that  the  unit  of  society  may  ever  mean  for  him  one  man 
and  one  woman  with  their  children.  Adam  is  also  warned  against  sin 
as  having  disobedience  for  its  root  and  death  as  its  result. 

All  this  prepares  us  to  understand  the  temptation,  the  miserable 
fall  of  the  woman  and  the  man,  their  terror,  shame,  and  punishment. 
Ch.  3.  And  we  are  not  surprised  to  see  the  unfolding  of  sin  in  the  life 
of  their  descendants,  beginning  with  Cain's  murder  of  Abel,  and  grow- 
ing until  God  sweeps  all  away  in  a  universal  deluge.    Chs.  4,  6. 

God's  tender  love  for  his  foolish,  rebellious  creatures  "will  not  let 
them  go."  At  the  gates  of  the  garden  from  which  their  sin  has  for- 
ever banished  them,  God  already  declares  his  purpose  to  "bruise"  the 
head  of  that  serpent,  Rom.  16  :  20,  who  had  brought  "sin  into 
the  world  and  death  by  sin,"  Gen.  3  :  15.  Through  the  "seed  of  the 
woman" — a  "Son  of  man"  of  some  future  day — sinful  man  can  escape 
the  death  he  has  brought  upon  himself.  And  from  Seth,  the  child 
"appointed  instead  of"  murdered  Abel,  a  line  of  men  descends,  who 
believe  this  promise  of  God.  Ch.  5.  In  Enoch  we  find  them  "walking 
with  God,"  V.  24,  in  a  fellowship  that  seemed  lost  when  paradise  was 


OLD   TESTAMENT  TIMES 


lost.  In  Lamech  we  find  them  hoping  with  each  new  generation  that 
God's  curse  will  be  at  length  removed.  V.  29.  And  in  Noah  we  find 
them  obedient  to  a  positive  command  of  God,  ch.  6  :  22,  as  Adam 
had  been  disobedient. 

In  the  Flood,  Noah  and  his  family  of  eight  were  the  only  persons  to 
survive.  When  they  had  come  from  the  ark  after  the  Flood,  God  gave 
them  the  promise  that  he  would  not  again  wipe  out  "all  flesh."  Ch. 
9:11.  But  after  it  appeared  that  God's  judgments  had  not  made  them 
fear  him,  God  was  just  as  angry  with  Noah's  descendants  as  he  had 
been  with  the  men  before  the  Flood.  Pride  led  them  to  build  a  tower  to 
be  a  rallying  point  for  their  worship  of  self.  But  God  showed  them 
that  men  cannot  long  work  together  with  a  sinful  purpose  as  their 
common  object;  he  broke  up  their  unity  in  sin  by  confusing  their  speech, 
ch.  11,  and  scattering  them  over  the  earth,  ch.  10.  This  second  dis- 
appointment found  its  brighter  side  in  the  Une  of  men  descended  from 
Noah  thropugh  Shem,  ch.  11  :  10,  who  also  cherished  God's  promises. 
And  the  last  stroke  of  the  writer's  pen  in  these  earUest  chapters  of  the 
Bible  introduces  the  reader  to  the  family  of  Terah  in  that  line  of  Shem, 
and  thus  prepares  the  way  for  a  closer  acquaintance  with  Terah's  son, 
Abraham,  "the  friend  of  God." 


QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  I 

1 .  About  how  large  is  the  world  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  where  does 

it  lie? 

2.  What  special  importance  has  Palestine  because  of  its  position? 

3.  How  much  of  the  story  in  Genesis  is  told  before  we  are  carried  to 

Palestine? 

4.  Locate  on   a  map  the  scene  of  those  earhest  events  in  human 

history. 

5.  Show  how  the  first  two  chapters  of  Genesis  prepare  for  the  tragedy 

of  sin  and  death  that  follows. 

6.  How  does  the  brighter  side  of  hope  and  faith  appear  from  Adam  to 

Noah? 

7.  What  effect  did  the  Flood  have  on  men's  sin  and  their  faith  in 

God? 

8.  Trace  the  descent  of  the  man  God  chose  to  become  "the  father  of 

the  faithful." 


10  TEACHING  THE   TEACHER 

LESSON  II 
The  Patriarchs 

Genesis,  Chapters  12  to  50 

God's  purpose  to  save  and  bless  all  mankind  was  to  be  carried 
out  in  a  wonderful  way.  He  selected  and  "called"  one  man  to 
become  the  head  and  ancestor  of  a  single  nation.  And  in  this  man 
and  the  nation  descended  from  him,  God  purposed  to  bless  the  whole 
world. 

Abraham  was^that  man,  and  Israel  was  that  nation.  God  made 
known  his  purpose  in  what  the  Bible  calls  the  Promise,  Gal.  3  :  17,  the 
Blessing,  v..  14,  or  the  Covenant,  v.  17.  Its  terms  are  given  many 
times  over  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  but  the  essence  of  it  lies  already  in 
the  first  word  of  God  to  Abraham,  Gen.  12  : 3,  "In  thee  shall  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  be  blessed." 

To  believe  this  promise  was  a  work  of  faith.  It  was  against  all 
appearances  and  all  probability.  Yet  this  was  just  where  the  religious 
value  of  that  promise  lay  for  Abraham  and  for  his  children  after  him 
— in  faith.  They  had  to  believe  something  on  the  basis  solely  of  their 
confidence  in  the  One  who  had  promised  it.  Or  rather,  they  had  to 
beheve  in  that  Person,  the  personal  Jehovah,  their  God.  They  must 
absolutely  trust  him.  To  do  so,  they  must  "know  him."  And  that 
they  might  know  him,  he  must  reveal  himself  to  them.  That  is  why 
we  read  all  through  Genesis  of  God's  "appearing"  or  "speaking"  to  this 
or  the  other  patriarch.  However  he  accomplished  it,  God  was  always 
trying  thus  to  make  them  better  acquainted  with  himself;  for  such 
knowledge  was  to  be  the  basis  of  their  faith.  Upon  faith  in  him  de- 
pended their  faith  in  his  word,  and  upon  faith  in  his  word  depended 
their  power  to  keep  alive  in  the  world  that  true  rehgion  which  was 
destined  for  all  men  and  which  we  to-day  share.  Abraham's  God  is 
our  God. 

Not  Abraham's  great  wealth  in  servants.  Gen.  14  :  14,  and  in  flocks 
and  herds,  ch.  13  : 2,  6,  but  the  promise  of  God  to  bless,  constituted 
the  true  "birthright"  in  Abraham's  family.  Ishmael,  the  child  of 
doubt,  missed  it;  and  Isaac,  the  child  of  faith,  obtained  it.  Gal.  4  :  23. 
Esau  "despised"  it,  because  he  was  "a  profane  [irreligious]  person," 
Heb.  12  :  16,  and  Jacob  schemed  to  obtain  it  by  purchase.  Gen.  25  :  31, 
and  by  fraud,  ch.  27  :  19.    Jacob  bequeathed  it  to  his  sons,  ch.  49,  and 


OLD   TESTAMENT  TIMES  11 

Moses  delivered  it  in  memorable  poetic  form  to  the  nation  to  retain 
and  rehearse  forever.     Deut.,  ch.  32, 

When  Abraham,  the  son  of  Terah,  entered  Canaan  with  Sarah  his 
wife  and  Lot  his  nephew  and  their  great  company  of  servants  and  fol- 
lowers, he  was  obeying  the  command  of  his  God.  He  no  sooner  enters 
it  than  God  gives  him  a  promise  that  binds  up  this  land  with  him  and 
his  descendants.  Gen.  13  :  14-17.  Yet  we  must  not  suppose  that 
Abraham  settled  down  in  this  Promised  Land  in  the  way  that  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers  settled  in  the  Old  Colony.  Although  Canaan  is  promised 
to  the  "seed"  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob  as  a  possession,  they  did 
not  themselves  obtain  a  foothold  in  it.  Apart  from  the  field  of  the 
cave  Machpelah,  at  Hebron  in  the  south,  Gen.,  ch.  23,  and  a  "shoul- 
der" (shechem)  or  fragment  of  land  near  Shechem  ("Jacob's  Well"), 
in  the  center  of  Canaan,  the  patriarchs  did  not  acquire  a  foot  of  the 
soil  of  what  was  to  become  "the  Holy  Land."  Abraham  wandered 
about,  even  going  down  to  Egypt  and  back.  Isaac  was  sometimes  at 
Hebron  and  sometimes  at  Beer-sheba  on  the  extreme  southern  verge 
of  the  land.  Jacob  spent  much  of  his  manhood  in  Mesopotamia,  and 
of  his  old  age  in  Egypt.  For  after  divine  Providence  in  a  remarkable 
manner  had  transplanted  one  of  Jacob's  sons,  Joseph,  into  new  soil, 
Gen,,  ch.  37,  his  father  and  his  brothers  were  drawn  after  him,  with  the 
way  for  their  long  Egyptian  residence  providentially  prepared  for 
them,  Gen,  50  :  20, 

Side  by  side  with  the  growth  of  a  nation  out  of  an  individual  we  find 
Grod's  choice  of  the  direction  which  that  growth  should  take.  Not 
all,  even  of  Abraham's  family,  were  to  become  part  of  the  future  people 
of  God.  So  Lot,  Abraham's  nephew,  separates  from  him,  and  there- 
after he  and  his  descendants,  the  Ammonites  and  the  Moabites,  go 
their  own  way.  As  between  Abraham's  sons,  Ishmael  is  cast  out,  and 
Isaac,  Sarah's  son,  is  selected.  And  between  Isaac's  two  sons,  Esau 
and  Jacob,  the  choice  falls  on  Jacob.  All  twelve  of  Jacob's  sons  are 
included  in  the  purpose  of  God,  and  for  this  reason  the  nation  is  called 
after  Jacob,  though  usually  under  his  name  "Israel,"  which  God  gave 
him  after  his  experience  of  wrestUng  with  "the  angel  of  the  Lord"  at 
the  river  Jabbok.  Gen.  32  :  22.  Those  sons  of  his  are  to  become  the 
heads  of  the  future  nation  of  the  "twelve  tribes",  Acts  26:  7. 

Even  while  Lot,  Ishmael,  and  Esau  are  thus  being  cut  off,  the  great- 
est care  is  taken  to  keep  the  descent  of  the  future  nation  pure  to  the 
blood  of  Terah's  house.     Those  three  men  all  married  alien  wives: 


12  TEACHING   THE  TEACHER 

Lot  probably  a  woman  of  Sodom,  Ishmael  an  Egyptian,  and  Esau  two 
Hittite  women.  The  mother  of  Isaac  was  Sarah,  the  mother  of  Jacob 
was  Rebekah,  and  the  mothers  of  eight  of  the  twelve  sons  of  Jacob 
were  Leah  and  Rachel;  and  all  these  women  belonged  to  that  same  house 
of  Terah  to  which  their  husbands  belonged.  Indeed,  much  of  Genesis 
is  taken  up  with  the  explanation  of  how  Isaac  and  Jacob  were  kept 
from  intermarrying  with  the  peoples  among  whom  they  lived. 

The  last  quarter  of  the  book,  which  is  occupied  with  the  story  of 
Joseph  and  his  brethren,  is  designed  to  link  these  "fathers"  and  their 
God  with  the  God  and  people  of  Moses.  The  same  Jehovah  who  had 
once  shown  his  power  over  Pharaoh  for  the  protection  of  Abraham 
and  Sarah,  and  who  was  later  to  show  his  power  over  another  Pharaoh 
''who  knew  not  Joseph,"  showed  his  power  also  over  the  Pharaoh  of 
Joseph's  day,  in  exalting  Joseph  from  the  dungeon  to  the  post  of  high- 
est honor  and  authority  in  Egypt,  and  in  delivering  Jacob  and  his  whole 
family  from  death  through  Joseph's  interposition.  What  their  long 
residence  in  Egypt  meant  for  God's  people  will  be  seen  in  another 
lesson. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  II 

1.  In  what  promise  does  God  reveal  to  Abraham  his  plan  to  bless  the 

world? 

2.  How  was  Abraham  brought  to  believe  in  God's  promise?     What 

difference  did  it  make  whether  he  and  his  descendants  believed 
it  or  not? 

3.  Did  the  patriarchs  see  that  part  of  the  promise  fulfilled  which  gave 

them   possession  of    "the    Holy   Land"?     Read    carefully   Gen. 
15  :  13-16  and  Heb.  11:9,  10,  14-16. 

4.  Make  a  "family  tree"  in  the  usual  way,  showing  those  descendants 

of  Terah  who  play  any  large  part  in  the  book  of  Genesis.  Under- 
score in  it  the  names  of  those  men  who  were  in  the  direct  line  of 
"the  Promise." 

5.  How  were  Isaac  and  Jacob  kept  from  marrying  outside  their  own 

family? 

6.  Explain  Joseph's  words,  "Ye  meant  evil  against  me;  but  God  meant 

it  for  good,  to  bring  to  pass,  as  it  is  this  day,  to  save  much 
people  alive."     Gen.  50  :  20. 


OLD   TESTAMENT  TIMES  13 

LESSON  III 
Egyptian  Bondage  and  Deliverance 

Exodus,  Chapter  1 

God  says  through  his  prophet  Hosea,  Hos.  11:1,  "When  Israel  was 
a  child,  then  I  Loved  him,  and  called  my  son  out  of  Egypt."  See  also 
Matt.  2  :  15.  There  was  a  loving,  divine  purpose  in  the  Egyptian 
residence  of  God's  people.  What  was  it?  What  did  this  period  mean 
in  the  career  of  Israel? 

Most  obviously,  it  meant  growth.  From  the  ''seventy  souls,"  Ex. 
1  : 5,  that  went  down  into  Egypt  with  Jacob,  there  sprang  up  there  a 
populous  folk,  large  enough  to  take  its  place  alongside  the  other  nations 
of  the  world  of  that  day.  Observe  the  nature  of  the  land  where  this 
grow^th  took  place.  Egypt  was  a  settled  country,  where  the  twelve 
developing  tribes  could  be  united  geographically  and  socially  in  a  way 
impossible  in  a  country  like  Palestine.  However  oppressed  they  were, 
they  nevertheless  were  secluded  from  the  dangers  of  raids  from  with- 
out and  of  civil  strife  within — just  such  dangers  as  later  almost  wrecked 
the  substantial  edifice  slowly  erected  by  this  period  of  growth  in 
Egypt. 

Egypt  meant  also  for  Israel  a  time  of  waiting.  All  this  growth  was 
not  accomplished  in  a  short  time.  It  lasted  four  hundred  and  thirty 
years.  Ex.  12  :  40,  41.  Through  this  long  period,  which  seems  like  a 
dark  tunnel  between  the  brightness  of  the  patriarchs'  times  and  that 
of  Moses'  day,  there  was  nothing  for  God's  people  to  do  but  to  wait. 
They  were  the  heirs  of  God's  promise,  but  they  must  wait  for  the  ful- 
fillment of  that  promise  in  God's  own  time,  wait  for  a  leader  raised  up 
by  God,  wait  for  the  hour  of  national  destiny  to  strike.  As  Hosea, 
ch.U :  1  expresses  it,  this  "child"  must  wait  for  his  Father's  "call."  The 
Egyptian  period  left  an  indelible  impression  on  the  mind  of  Israel.  It 
formed  the  gray  background  on  which  God  could  lay  the  colors  of  his 
great  deliverance.  It  is  because  God  knew  and  planned  this  that  he  so 
often  introduces  himself  to  his  people,  when  he  speaks  to  them,  as  "Je- 
hovah thy  God,  who  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage." 

In  the  third  place,  this  Egyptian  period  meant  for  Israel  a  time  of 
chastisement.  The  oppression  to  which  the  descendants  of  Jacob  were 
exposed,  when  "there  arose  a  new  king  over  Egypt,  who  knew  not 


14  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

Joseph,"  Ex.  1  : 8,  was  so  severe,  prolonged,  and  hopeless,  v.  14,  that 
it  has  become  proverbial  and  typical.  Since  every  male  child  was  to 
be  put  to  death,  v.  22,  it  is  clear  that  the  purpose  of  the  Egyptians  was 
nothing  less  than  complete  extermination.  "It  is  good  for  a  man  that 
he  bear  the  yoke  in  his  youth":  if  that  be  true,  then  the  children  of 
Israel  derived  good  from  the  school  of  discipline  in  which  they  grew 
up.  True,  as  we  read  their  later  story,  we  feel  that  no  people  could  be 
more  fickle.  Yet  there  is  no  other  nation  with  which  to  compare 
Israel.  And  it  is  very  probable  that  no  other  nation  would  have  been 
serious-minded  enough  even  to  receive  and  grasp  the  divine  revelation 
and  leading  of  Moses'  and  Joshua's  time.  God,  who  had  "seen  the 
affliction  of  his  people,"  who  had  "heard  their  cry"  and  sent  Moses  to 
them  to  organize  their  deliverance,  wrote  forever  on  this  nation's  soul 
the  message  of  salvation  in  a  historical  record.  At  the  start  of  their 
national  life  there  stood  the  story,  which  they  could  never  deny  or 
forget,  and  which  told  them  of  God's  power  and  grace. 

Exodus,  Chapters  5  to  15 

All  this  lay  in  Israel's  experience  in  Egypt.  The  next  lesson  will  tell 
of  the  character  and  work  of  the  man  whom  God  chose  to  be  leader. 
The  means  by  which  Moses  succeeded  in  the  seemingly  impossible  task 
of  marching  a  great  horde  of  slaves  out  from  their  masters'  country, 
was  the  impression  of  God's  power  on  the  minds  of  Pharaoh  and  his 
people.  It  was  a  continued,  combined,  and  cumulative  impression. 
Of  course  it  could  not  be  made  without  the  use  of  supernatural  means. 
We  must  not,  therefore,  be  surprised  to  find  the  story  in  Exodus  bristling 
with  miracles.  To  be  sure,  the  "plagues"  can  be  shown  to  be  largely 
natural  to  that  land  where  they  occurred.  And  the  supreme  event  of 
the  deliverance,  the  passage  of  Israel  through  the  Red  Sea  on  dry 
ground,  was  due,  according  to  the  narrative  itself,  to  a  persistent 
wind,  Ex.  14  :  21,  such  as  often  lays  bare  the  shallows  of  a  bay,  only 
to  release  the  waters  again  when  its  force  is  spent. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  not  possible  to  remove  the  "hand  of  God"  from 
the  account  by  thus  pointing  out  some  of  the  means  God  used  to  ac- 
complish his  special  purposes.  It  was  at  the  time,  in  the  way,  and  in 
the  order,  in  which  Moses  announced  to  Pharaoh  the  arrival  of  the 
plagues,  that  they  actually  appeared.  This  was  what  had  its  ultimate 
effect  on  the  king's  stubborn  will.  And  when  Israel  was  told  to  "go 
forward,"  with  the  waters  right  before  them,  and  when  the  Egyptians 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  15 

were  saying,  ''They  are  entangled  in  the  land,  the  wilderness  hath 
shut  them  in,"  Ex.  14  : 3 — it  was  just  at  that  juncture  that  the  east 
wind  did  its  work  at  God's  command;  when  Israel  was  over  safely,  it 
went  down.  Such  things  do  not  ''happen."  It  made  a  profound  im- 
pression on  Israel,  on  Egypt,  and  on  all  the  nations  of  that  day;  all 
united  in  accepting  it  as  the  work  of  Israel's  God.  Ex.  15  :  11,  14-16; 
Josh.  2  :  10. 

The  important  point  for  the  nation  was  to  know,  when  Moses  and 
Aaron  came  to  them  in  the  name  of  God,  that  it  was  their  fathers'  God 
who  had  sent  them.  On  account  of  this  need,  which  both  the  people 
and  their  leaders  felt,  God  proclaimed  his  divine  name,  Jehovah  (more 
precisely,  Yahweh,  probably  meaning  "He  is,"  Ex.  3  :  14,  15),  to  Moses, 
and  bade  him  pronounce  the  same  to  Israel,  to  assure  them  that  he  was 
"the  God  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,"  and  thus  what  Moses 
came  now  to  do  for  them  was  just  what  had  been  promised  to  those 
fathers  long  before.  The  passover  night  was  the  fulfillment  of  God's 
good  word  to  Abraham.  Ex.  13  :  10,  11 .  How  that  word  went  on  and 
on  toward  more  and  more  complete  fulfillment  will  be  the  subject  of  the 
succeeding  lessons. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  III 

1.  What  advantages  had  Egypt  over  Palestine  as  the  place  for  Israel 

to  grow  from  a  family  into  a  nation? 

2.  What  value  was  there  for  Israel  in  a  negative  time  of  waiting  at  the 

beginning  of  its  history? 

3.  Compare  the  effect  on  Israel  with  the  effect  on  a  man,  of  passing 

through  a  time  of  difficulty  while  developing. 

4.  Name  the  ten  "plagues  of  Egypt"  in  their  order.    How  far  can  they 

be  called  "natural"? 

5.  If  the  east  wind  drove  back  the  Red  Sea,  what  did  God  have  to  do 

with  Israel's  escape  from  the  Egyptian  army? 

6.  Why  should  w^e  not  be  surprised  to  find  many  miracles  grouped  at 

this  stage  of  Bible  history? 

7.  How  did  God  identify  himself  in  the  minds  of  the  people  with  the 

God  of  their  fathers?     What  was  his  personal  name? 


16  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

LESSON  IV 
Moses  as  Leader  and  Lawgiver 

Exodus,  Chapters  2  to  4 

One  of  the  things  Israel  had  to  wait  for  through  those  centuries  in 
Egypt  was  a  leader.  When  the  time  came  God  raised  up  such  a  leader 
for  his  people  in  Moses. 

The  story  of  how  Moses'  life  was  preserved  in  infancy,  and  of  how 
he  came  to  be  brought  up  at  the  court  of  Pharaoh  with  all  its  advan- 
tages for  culture,  is  one  of  the  most  fascinating  tales  of  childhood. 
Ex.  2  : 1-10.  But  not  many  who  know  this  famihar  tale  could  go  on 
with  the  biography  of  the  man  of  forty  who  fled  from  Pharaoh's  ven- 
geance. Moses  found  by  personal  contact  with  his  "brethren,"  the 
children  of  Israel,  that  they  were  not  yet  ready  for  common  action,  and 
would  not  easily  acknowledge  his  right  to  lead  them.  After  killing  an 
Egyptian  slave  driver  there  was  nothing  for  Moses  to  do  but  to  flee. 
Vs.  11-15. 

He  spent  the  second  forty  years  of  his  life,  Acts  7  :  23,  30;  Ex.  7  :  7, 
in  the  deserts  about  the  eastern  arm  of  the  Red  Sea — the  region  known 
to  the  Hebrews  as  Midian.  There  he  married  the  daughter  of  the 
Midianite  priest  Reuel.  (Jethro  was  probably  Reuel's  title,  meaning  "his 
excellency.")  While  herding  his  sheep  in  the  mountains  called  Horeb 
(Sinai) ,  Moses  received  at  the  burning  bush  that  personal  revelation  of 
the  God  of  his  fathers,  which  lay  at  the  base  of  all  his  future  labors  for 
God  and  his  people.  Ex.  3  : 1  to  4  :  17.  It  was  a  commission  to  lead 
Israel  out  of  their  bondage  in  Egypt  into  the  land  promised  to  their 
fathers. 

Though  very  humble  as  to  his  fitness  for  such  leadership,  Moses  was 
assured  of  Jehovah's  presence  and  help.  He  was  equipped  with  extra- 
ordinary powers  for  convincing  the  proud  Pharaoh  that  his  demands 
were  God's  demands;  and  he  was  given  the  aid  of  his  brother  Aaron,  who 
had  a  readiness  of  speech  which  Moses  at  this  time  seems  to  have  lacked. 

Exodus,  Chapters  16  to  24 

How  the  two  brothers  achieved  the  seemingly  impossible  task  of 
winning  out  of  Egypt,  and  of  uniting  a  spiritless  and  unorganized 
mass  of  slaves  upon  a  desperate  enterprise,  is  the  narrative  that  fills 
the  early  chapters  of  Exodus.     But  with  Israel  safe  across  the  Red 


OLD  TESTAMENT  TIMES  17 


Sea,  Moses'  leadership  had  only  begun.  He  instituted  an  organization 
of  the  people  for  relieving  himself  of  his  heavy  duties  as  judge.  He 
determined  the  hne  of  march,  and  sustained  the  spirits  of  the  fighting 
men  in  their  struggle  against  the  tribes  of  the  desert  who  challenged 
Israel's  passage. 

But,  above  all,  Moses  became  the  "mediator"  of  the  "covenant," 
Heb.  9  :  19-21,  between  the  Hebrews  and  Jehovah  their  God  at  Mount 
Sinai.  On  the  basis  of  the  Ten  Commandments,  Ex.  20:2-17; 
Deut.  5  :6-21,  that  guide  to  God's  nature  and  will  which  formed  the 
Hebrew  constitution,  the  people  agreed  to  worship  and  obey  Jehovah 
alone,  and  Jehovah  promised  to  be  their  God,  fulfiUing  to  them  his 
promises  made  to  their  fathers.  By  solemn  sacrifices,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  time,  when  the  symbolism  of  altar  and  priesthood  was 
well  understood,  this  covenant  was  sealed. 

Exodus,  Chapter  25  to  Numbers,  Chapter  36 

After  long  seclusion  on  the  mount  alone  with  God,  Moses  ordered  the 
erection  of  a  house  of  worship.  It  had  to  be  portable,  so  as  to  accom- 
pany them  in  their  wanderings  and  express  visibly,  wherever  set  up, 
the  reUgious  unity  of  the  twelve  tribes.  Aaron  and  his  sons  were  con- 
secrated to  be  the  official  priesthood  of  this  new  shrine  and  were  clothed 
and  instructed  accordingly.  Minute  details  regulated  all  sacrifices,  and 
similar  minute  instructions  enabled  the  priests  to  decide  questions  of 
ceremonial  cleanness  and  uncleanness  in  matters  of  food  and  health. 

AU  these  laws  and  regulations,  mainly  recorded  in  Leviticus,  were 
given  through  Moses,  either  alone  or  in  association  with  his  brother. 
It  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that  there  were  those  who  challenged  this 
exclusive  leadership  in  every  department  of  the  national  life.  We 
read  of  a  willful  disregard  of  divine  orders  even  in  the  family  of  Aaron, 
with  immediate  fatal  results.  Lev.  10  : 1-7.  Like  punishment  over- 
took those  members  of  the  tribe  of  Levi  who  showed  jealousy  of  the 
house  of  Aaron,  and  those  elements  in  other  tribes  that  claimed  rights 
equal  or  superior  to  those  of  Moses.  Num.,  chs.  16,  17.  It  would  be 
strange,  indeed,  if  God,  who  had  vindicated  his  servant  Moses  against 
Pharaoh,  should  let  his  own  authority  as  represented  by  Moses  be  chal- 
lenged within  the  camp  of  Israel.     He  punished  to  save. 

Just  as  God  took  up  the  Sabbath  and  circumcision,  old  customs  of 
the  preceding  era,  into  the  law  of  Israel,  so  also  he  spoke  to  this  people 
through  an  elaborate  system  of  feasts  and  pilgrimages,  which  bound 


18  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

up  their  whole  year  with  the  worship  of  God.  Indeed,  the  principle  of 
the  seventh  part  of  time  as  sacred  was  extended  to  the  seventh  year, 
and  even  to  the  fiftieth  year  (the  year  following  the  seventh  seven), 
for  beneficent  social  and  economic  uses.    Lev.,  ch.  25. 

When  at  length  the  nation,  thus  organized  and  equipped,  set  forth 
from  Sinai,  Num.  10  :  11,  they  required  a  leadership  of  a  different 
kind — military  leadership  and  practical  statesmanship.  They  found 
both  in  Moses.  He  it  was  who  led  them  through  all  the  long  wander- 
ings in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai,  bearing  their  murmurings  and  meeting 
their  recurrent  difficulties  with  a  patience  that  seems  almost  divine, 
save  for  that  one  lapse  which  was  to  cost  him  and  Aaron  their  entrance 
into  the  Promised  Land.     Num.  20  :  10-12. 

At  the  border  of  the  land,  from  the  top  of  Pisgah  in  the  long  moun- 
tain wall  of  Moab,  Moses  at  last  looked  down  into  that  deep  gorge 
of  the  Jordan  Valley  at  his  feet,  which  separated  him  from  the  hills  of 
Canaan,  Beyond  this  river  and  the  Dead  Sea,  into  which  it  empties, 
lay  the  land  long  ago  promised  to  the  seed  of  Abraham.  Moses  had 
been  permitted  to  lead  the  people  to  its  very  gateway ;  but  it  remained 
for  another,  his  younger  helper,  Joshua,  to  lead  them  through  the  gate 
into  the  house  of  rest. 

The  Book  of  Deuteronomy 

But  before  he  surrendered  his  power  to  another  and  his  life  to  his 
Maker,  the  aged  Moses  rehearsed  in  the  ears  of  Israel  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  God's  law.  He  pleaded  earnestly  with  them  to  accept  it  from 
the  heart,  to  adapt  it  to  the  changed  conditions  of  their  new  settled 
life  with  its  new  temptations,  and  to  hand  it  down  as  their  most  precious 
heritage  to  their  children  after  them.  This  is  the  purpose  and  sub- 
stance of  the  book  of  Deuteronomy,  which  gets  its  name  from  the  fact 
that  it  is  a  "second  lawgiving."  It  is  the  Law  of  Sinai  repeated,  but 
in  oratorical  form,  charged  with  the  feeling  and  spirit  of  that  "man  of 
God,"  whose  name  is  forever  linked  with  the  Law  and  with  the  God 
who  gave  it  to  mankind. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  IV 

1.  How  did  Moses'  forty  years  in  Egypt  and  his  forty  years  in  Midian 

help  to  prepare  him  for  leadership? 

2.  What  was  the  constitution  of  the  new  Hebrew  State  established  at 

Sinai?     How  was  it  ratified? 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  19 

3.  How  was  the  tabernacle  suited  to  the  religious  needs  of  Israel  dur- 

ing Moses'  lifetime? 

4.  Show  how  the  Law  of  Moses  takes  up  the  old  principle  of  the  Sab- 

bath and  applies  it  to  the  life  of  Israel. 

5.  Where  did  Moses'  leadership  end,  and  what  was  his  last  service  to 

the  nation? 

LESSON  V 
The  Conquest  and  Settlement  of  Canaan 

The  Book  of  Joshua 

On  the  death  of  Aaron  his  son,  Eleazar,  succeeded  him  as  high  priest. 
But  when  Moses  died,  it  was  not  a  son  who  succeeded  him  in  the 
political  and  moral  leadership  of  Israel,  for  that  position  was  not 
hereditary.  Joshua,  a  man  of  Ephraim,  was  divinely  designated  for 
this  work.  He  was  fitted  for  the  difficult  undertaking  by  military  ex- 
perience, Ex.  17  : 9-14,  by  personal  acquaintance  with  Canaan,  Num. 
13  : 8,  16;  14  : 6,  30,  38,  and  by  long  and  intimate  association  with 
Moses,  Ex.  33  :  11;  Num.  11  :  28;  Deut.  34  :  9;  Josh.  1:1.  The  book 
of  Joshua,  which  records  his  career,  divides  naturally  into  two  parts, 
first,  the  conquest,  chs.l  to  12,  and  second,  the  settlement,  chs.  13  to  22. 
Two  further  chapters,  chs.  23,  24,  contain  Joshua's  valedictory  address. 

Before  Moses'  death  two  and  a  lialf  tribes  had  already  received  their 
assignment  of  territory  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan,  out  of  lands  con- 
quered from  the  Amorite  kings,  Sihon  and  Og.  But  the  fighting  men 
of  these  tribes  agreed  to  accompany  the  other  tribes  and  share  their 
struggle  till  all  had  obtained  an  inheritance.  So  when  the  great  host 
l^assed  over  the  Jordan,  not  far  from  where  it  empties  into  the  Dead 
Sea,  the  men  of  Reuben,  Gad,  and  Manasseh  crossed  with  the  rest. 
Jehovah,  who  at  the  Red  Sea  a  generation  earlier  had  struck  terror 
into  the  hearts  of  all  nations  by  his  wonderful  interposition  to  save 
Israel  and  destroy  its  enemies,  repeated  here  his  saving  help,  by  stem- 
ming the  swift  current  of  the  Jordan  River,  till  all  had  passed  over  dry 
shod  to  the  western  side. 

Once  over,  they  found  themselves  face  to  face  with  Jericho,  a  city 
which  commanded  the  passes  into  the  mountain  country  beyond. 
Spies  previously  despatched  to  learn  the  weakness  of  Jericho  had  re- 
ported the  panic  of  its  inhabitants  and  so  prepared  the  Hebrews  to 


20  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

believe  God's  word,  when  through  Joshua  he  announced  a  bloodless 
victory  here  at  the  beginning  of  their  conquest.  Without  a  blow 
struck  Jericho  fell,  and  all  its  inhabitants  were  "devoted,"  at  Jehovah's 
strict  command.  Even  their  wealth  was  to  be  "devoted,"  that  is,  the 
cattle  slain  and  the  goods  added  to  the  treasury  of  the  sanctuary. 
Only  Rahab,  who  had  saved  the  spies,  and  her  family  were  excepted. 
One  man,  Achan,  disobeyed  the  ban  on  private  spoils.  His  covetous- 
ness  and  deception,  revealed  by  Israel's  defeat  in  the  expedition  against 
Ai  which  followed  the  fall  of  Jericho,  and  detected  by  the  use  of  the 
sacred  lot,  was  punished  by  the  execution  of  all  who  were  privy  to 
the  crime. 

Better  success  attended  the  second  attempt  to  take  Ai.  With  these 
two  cities  reduced,  Jericho  at  the  bottom  and  Ai  at  the  top  of  the 
valley  leading  up  from  the  Jordan  floor  to  the  central  highland,  Joshua 
was  in  a  position  to  attack  anywhere  without  fear  of  being  outflanked. 
Middle,  south,  and  north  was  the  order  commended  by  military  con- 
siderations. Accordingly  those  cities  which,  because  in  the  middle  of 
the  land,  felt  themselves  the  most  immediately  threatened,  took  the 
first  steps  to  avert  the  menace.  A  group  of  five  towns  lying  just  north 
of  Jerusalem,  with  Gibeon  at  their  head,  succeeded  by  a  ruse  in  getting 
a  treaty  of  peace  from  Joshua.  The  Gibeonites  deceived  Joshua  by 
representing  themselves  as  having  come  from  a  great  distance  to  seek 
an  alliance.  Joshua's  pride  was  flattered  and  he  fell  a  victim  to  the 
trick.  The  consequences  were  serious,  for  these  Canaanites,  though 
reduced  to  vassalage,  remained  as  aUens  in  the  heart  of  the  land,  and 
cut  off  the  southern  from  the  northern  tribes  of  Israel. 

A  confederacy  of  the  chief  cities  in  the  region  south  of  Gibeon, 
headed  by  the  king  of  Jerusalem,  determined  to  strike  the  first  blow. 
But  their  campaign  against  the  Gibeonites,  now  the  allies  of  Israel, 
ended  in  a  quick  advance  by  Joshua  and  his  complete  subjugation  of 
all  these  cities,  the  humiliation  and  death  of  their  kings,  and  the  "de- 
votion" of  the  inhabitants  who  fell  into  his  hands. 

A  similar  campaign  followed  in  the  north,  with  the  city  of  Hazor 
at  the  head  of  the  Canaanite  forces.  At  the  "waters  of  Merom,"  a 
small  lake  a  few  miles  north  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  a  surprise  attack  by 
Joshua  deprived  his  enemies  of  their  advantage  in  horsemen  and 
chariots  on  the  level  ground  they  had  selected  for  battle,  and  resulted 
in  the  utter  rout  of  the  Canaanites  and  the  general  slaughter  of  every 
soul  that  did  not  escape  by  flight  from  the  "devoted"  towns. 


OLD  TESTAMENT  TIMES  21 


Thus  from  Mount  Hermon  on  the  north  to  the  wilderness  of  the 
wandering  on  the  south,  the  whole  land  had  been  swept  over  and 
reduced  to  impotence  by  the  Hebrew  invader.  It  was  time  to  appor- 
tion it  now  to  the  several  tribes.  This  was  accomplished  under  the 
direction  of  Joshua  and  Eleazar.  Judah  and  Joseph,  the  two  strongest 
tribes,  were  assigned,  the  one  to  the  south  and  the  other  to  the  north 
of  the  main  mountain  mass.  Levi's  inheritance  was  to  be  "the  Lord," 
that  is,  the  religious  tithes,  and  his  dwelling  was  to  be  "among  his 
brethren,"  that  is,  in  designated  towns  throughout  all  the  land.  A 
commission  of  three  representatives  from  each  of  the  seven  other  west- 
ern tribes  divided  the  rest  of  the  conquered  territory  into  seven  fairly 
equal  parts.  These  then  were  assigned  to  the  seven  tribes  by  lot  at 
the  tabernacle  at  Shiloh.  As  for  the  eastern  tribes,  when  they  returned 
to  their  homes  across  the  Jordan,  they  built  an  altar  at  the  ford,  as  a 
permanent  "witness"  to  the  unity  of  all  the  sons  of  Jacob,  however  the 
deep  gorge  of  the  Jordan  might  cut  them  off  from  one  another. 

At  Shechem,  where  Abraham  built  his  first  altar  in  Canaan,  Joshua 
had  renewed  the  covenant  between  the  people  and  their  God  as  soon 
as  he  had  secured  control  of  Mount  Ephraim,  the  middle  high- 
lands. He  had  not  only  read  the  Law  of  Moses  to  all  the  people  here, 
but  also  inscribed  it  on  stones  for  the  sake  of  permanence  and  pub- 
hcity.  And  now,  when  the  conquest  was  complete  and  Joshua  was 
nearing  his  end,  he  reassembled  the  people  at  the  same  spot,  to  remind 
them  there  of  that  solemn  covenant,  and  to  leave  with  them  his  final 
charge  of  fideHty  to  their  God  and  his  one  central  sanctuary. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  V 

1 .  How  was  Joshua  specially  fitted  to  succeed  Moses  as  leader  of  Israel? 

2.  Which  tribes  received  their  inheritance  east  of  the  Jordan?    How 

did  these  show  their  sense  of  the  unity  of  all  Israel  (a)  at  the  be- 
ginning, and  (6)  at  the  close  of  the  conquest? 

3.  What  justification  can  be  urged  for  the  stem  measures  which  Israel 

took  with  the  Canaanites  and  their  possessions? 

4.  What  was  the  plan  of  Joshua's  campaign,  and  what  relation  did  the 

capture  of  Jericho  and  Ai  bear  to  it? 

5.  How  did  the  men  of  Gibeon  deceive  Joshua,  and  why?    What  last- 

ing damage  was  caused  by  his  treaty  with  them? 

6.  Locate  on  a  map  the  inheritance  of  each  of  the  tribes. 


22  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

LESSON  VI 
The  Period  of  the  Judges 

The  Books  of  Judges  and  Ruth 

In  Egypt,  Israel  had  grown  from  a  family  into  a  folk.  In  the  wilder- 
ness the  folk  had  become  a  nation.  In  the  conquest  the  nation  had 
gotten  its  home.  But  in  the  period  of  the  Judges  which  followed  the 
conquest  this  steady  advance  seemed  interrupted.  What  do  we  find 
at  this  time? 

We  find  a  loose  confederacy  of  tribes,  aware  of  their  common  origin, 
yet  too  jealous  of  local  names  and  rights  to  combine  for  a  common  end, 
too  selfish  to  help  one  another  until  the  danger  of  one  has  become  a 
tragedy  for  all. 

The  nature  of  the  land  the  Hebrews  had  occupied  helped  this  divisive 
tendency.  The  great  gash  of  the  Jordan  Valley,  its  bed  two  or  three 
thousand  feet  below  the  mountain  country  on  either  side,  cut  off  the 
eastern  minority  from  the  western  majority.  In  the  west  a  plain  sepa- 
rated the  foothills  of  the  central  range  from  the  seashore.  This  plain 
not  only  contained  enemies  like  the  PhiHstines  whom  only  a  united 
Israel  could  have  conquered,  but  also  quickly  altered  the  type  of  its 
Hebrew  settlers.  Right  across  the  mountain  belt  from  the  sea  to  the 
Jordan  stretched  an  almost  unbroken  plain  (Esdraelon),  varying  from 
sea  level  to  the  lower  level  of  the  Jordan.  This  cut  off  the  mountaineers 
to  the  north  (GaUlee)  from  those  to  the  south  (Ephraim).  And  a 
glance  at  any  physical  map  will  show  how  even  in  the  mountain  coun- 
try deep,  lateral  valleys  reach  up  from  either  side  so  far  toward  the 
center  that  communication  from  north  to  south  is  only  by  a  series  of 
violent  grades,  save  along  that  narrow  ridge  in  the  middle  where  runs 
the  highroad  between  Hebron,  Jerusalem,  Shechem,  and  Jezreel. 

Under  these  conditions  only  some  strong  positive  force  could  pre- 
vent the  disintegration  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  Such  a  force  the  re- 
ligion of  Jehovah  was  intended  to  be,  and  would  have  been,  if  the  peo- 
ple had  remained  faithful  to  it.  It  had  one  high  priest,  descendant  of 
Aaron,  and  associated  therefore  with  all  the  memories  of  Moses  and 
Sinai.  It  had  a  single  sanctuary,  the  seat  of  Ark  and  oracle,  the  center 
of  pilgrimage  three  times  a  year.  It  had  one  law  for  all  Hebrews,  a 
law  far  superior  to  the  codes  of  all  other  nations,  and  revealing  the 
nature  and  will  of  a  single  moral  and  spiritual  deity.    All  this  provided 


OLD  TESTAMENT  TIMES  23 

the  focus  for  a  mighty  nation,  with  a  pure  "theocracy,"  that  is,  a  gov- 
ernment by  God  himself.  But  the  people  did  not  remain  faithful. 
They  fell  away  in  this  time  of  the  Judges. 

The  Book  of  Judges,  which  tells  the  story  of  this  period,  records  a 
long  list  of  names,  each  one  connected  with  some  particular  enemy 
of  Israel,  some  tribe  or  group  of  tribes  dehvered,  and  some  definite 
term  of  years  during  which  the  deliverer  "judged"  the  people.     On 
this  list  the  most  conspicuous  names  are  those  of  Deborah  and  of 
Gideon  in  the  north,  of  Jephthah  east  of  the  Jordan  (Gilead),  and  of 
Samson  in  the  south.     Most  of  the  other  judges  are  httle  more  than 
names  to  us.    Deborah  stands  out,  not  only  because  she  was  a  woman, 
but  also  for  her  wonderful  "song"  preserved  in  the  fifth  chapter,  cele- 
brating Barak's  victory  over  the  Canaanites  near  Mount  Carmel. 
Gideon  is  memorable  for  his  strategems  and  his  persistence,  and  for 
his  near  approach  to  a  real  kingship,  which  was  offered  to  him  and  his 
house  after  his  victory,  but  which  he  declined,  saying,  "Jehovah  shall 
rule  over  you."    Ch.  8  :  23.    His  son  Abimelech  was  actually  termed 
king  in  and  around  the  city  of  Shechem  for  a  few  years,  but  perished 
miserably  for  his  sins.    Ch.  9  :  6,  56.    Jephthah's  career  was  mainly  con- 
cerned with  the  region  east  of  the  Jordan,  but  his  admirable  "apology' - 
for  Israel  showed  his  sense  of  Hebrew  solidarity.    Samson's  picturesque 
story,  with  its  petty  loves  and  hates,  its  riddles  and  its  practical  jokes, 
ended  in  a  sacrificial  death  which  in  part  redeems  its  meanness.     But 
neither  Samson  nor  any  of  his  predecessors  accomplished  anything 
permanent. 

Two  words  of  caution  belong  to  the  study  of  this  book  and  of  these 
times.  First,  we  must  not  suppose  that  one  judge  necessarily  follows 
another  in  point  of  time  because  his  story  follows  the  other's  story  in 
the  book.  Judges  10  :  7  shows  that  oppressions  of  different  sections  of 
the  land  by  different  enemies  might  be  taking  place  at  the  same  time, 
and  suggests  that  the  figures  assigned  to  each  judge  at  the  close  of  his 
story  cannot  safely  be  added  together  to  find  the  total  length  of  this 
period.  And  second,  those  figures  themselves  (nearly  always  forty  or 
eighty)  are  to  be  taken  as  "round  numbers,"  rather  than  as  precise 
data  such  as  we  look  for  to-day  to  make  out  a  table  of  chronology. 
In  the  same  way  the  four  hundred  and  eighty  years  of  I  Kings  6  : 1  is 
evidently  intended  as  twelve  times  forty  years,  to  represent  the  whole 
time  from  the  Exodus  to  Solomon.  For  when  we  have  subtracted  from 
the  beginning  of  it  one  forty-year  term  for  the  wanderings,  and  from 


24  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

the  end  of  it  three  forty-year  terms  for  Eli,  I  Sam,  4  :  18,  Saul,  Acts 
13  :  21,  and  David,  I  Kings  2:11,  then  we  have  left  eight  forty-year 
terms  for  the  Judges.  Eight  times  forty  is  three  hundred  and  twenty. 
Those  three  hundred  and  twenty  years  would  then^correspond  with 
the  three  hundred  years  mentioned  by  Jephthah  in  Judg.  11  :  26  as 
dividing  Moses'  days  from  his  own.  Under  these  circumstances  we 
are  wise  to  wait  for  further  light  from  archaeology  before  fixing  the 
precise  date  of  any  one  of  these  interesting  persons, 

There  are  three  additions  or  appendices  to  the  Book  of  Judges.  The 
first  of  them,  including  chs.  17,  18,  tells  how  the  Danites  came  to  live 
in  the  extreme  north,  and  the  origin  of  the  idolatrous  sanctuary  at  that 
city  of  Dan  which  was  reckoned  as  the  northern  limit  of  Canaan — 
"from  Dan  to  Beer-sheba."  The  second  occupies  the  three  remaining 
chapters  of  Judges,  and  records  the  civil  war  between  Benjamin  and  the 
other  tribes  on  account  of  "the  sin  of  Gibeah,"  Hos.  10  : 9.  And  the 
third  appendix  is  the  story  of  Ruth  the  Moabitess  which  now  makes  a 
separate  book  in  the  Bible.  Besides  its  inherent  charm  the  story 
claims  special  notice  because  of  the  light  it  throws  on  that  Bethlehem 
family  which  was  soon  to  furnish  the  nation  its  great  king,  David. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VI 

1.  What  influences  made  for  the  loss  of  Hebrew  unity  as  soon  as 

Joshua's  generation  was  dead? 

2.  What  forces  remained  to  bind  the  tribes  together?    Why  did  not 

these  forces  suffice? 

3.  How  were  the  persons  selected  who  ruled  Israel  in  this  period? 

Were  they  "judges"  in  the  same  sense  as  our  judges  to-day? 
What  besides? 

4.  What  three  groups  of  tribes  tended  to  draw  together  under  com- 

mon leaders?    Tell  the  exploits  of  one  distinguished  judge  belong- 
ing to  each  of  these  groups. 

5.  With  what  reserve  should  we  use  the  figures  in  this  book  to  con- 

struct a  chronology  of  the  period? 

6.  Point  out  the  relation  of  the  book  of  Ruth  to  the  closing  portion 

of  the  Book  of  Judges.        What  lends  Ruth  peculiar  historical 
interest? 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  25 

LESSON  VII 
Samuel  and  Saul :  Prophecy  and  Monarchy 

The  First  Book  of  Samuel 

Sometimes  Eli  and  sometimes  Samuel  are  called  the  last  of  the  Judges. 
But  neither  of  these  was  a  judge  in  the  same  exclusive  sense  as  Gideon 
or  Samson.  Eli  was  the  high  priest,  but  exercised  the  office  of  judge 
for  his  time.  Samuel  was  a  prophet,  who  also  "judged  Israel"  in  the 
interval  between  EU's  death  and  Saul's  accession.  Both  men  mark 
the  time  of  transition  between  the  period  of  the  Judges  and  the 
monarchy.  And  the  two  names  are  most  closely  linked,  for  it 
was  under  EU's  instruction,  at  the  sanctuary  in  Shiloh,  that  Samuel 
grew  up. 

The  story  of  Hannah  and  her  dedication  of  her  little  son  to  God  as 
a  "Nazirite,"  I  Sam.  1:11;  compare  Num.  6  : 1-8,  to  dwell  all  his  hfe 
at  the  house  of  God,  I  Sam.  1  :  28,  has  a  peculiar  charm  for  young  and 
old.  It  gives  a  picture  of  personal  piety  in  a  rude  age,  and  thus  serves 
to  correct  our  idea  of  the  times.  Beginning  at  a  very  early  age,  I  Sam. 
3  : 1  to  4  : 1,  Samuel  became  the  chosen  and  recognized  mouthpiece  of 
Israel's  God. 

That  is  the  essential  meaning  of  a  prophet — one  who  speaks  for  God. 
Exodus  4  :  16  is  instructive,  for  it  shows  that  as  Aaron  was  to  be  "a 
mouth"  to  Moses,  while  Moses  was  *'as  God"  to  Aaron,  so  the  prophet 
was  God's  mouthpiece  or  spokesman.  Of  course  a  prophet  was  often  a 
person  who  also  spoke  before — one,  that  is,  who  predicted  what  should 
come  to  pass.  And  the  fact  that  his  words  were  actually  fulfilled  be- 
came a  proof  of  his  divine  commission,  both  in  theory,  Deut.  18  :  22, 
and  in  practice,  Isa.  44  :  26.  But  the  bulk  of  the  prophets'  messages 
were,  Uke  those  of  Samuel,  addressed  to  their  own  time.  They  were 
preachers  of  righteousness,  warners  against  sin,  the  nation's  conscience, 
and  the  Lord's  remembrancers. 

It  is  the  chief  glory  of  Samuel  that  he  was  not  only  first  in  the  long 
hne  of  the  Hebrew  prophets — the  most  remarkable  succession  of  men 
the  world  has  ever  seen — but  also  the  founder  of  the  prophetic  order. 
By  the  prophetic  order  we  mean  the  prophets  as  a  group  conscious 
of  their  solidarity,  the  identity  of  their  principles  and  aim.  Samuel 
gathered  about  his  dominating  personality  those  persons  who  were 
sympathetic  with  him  in  spirit,  and  who  shared  with  him  some  of  that 


26  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

power  of  testimony  which  "the  word  of  Jehovah"  conferred.  They 
seem  to  have  hved  together,  I  Sam.  19  :  20,  in  communities  similar  to 
those  two  centuries  later  under  Ehjah  and  Elisha.  They  used  musical 
instruments  in  their  devotions,  which  were  public  as  well  as  private. 
Ch.  10  :  5.  They  were  the  center  of  patriotic  zeal  as  well  as  of  religious 
effort.  In  fact,  the  behef  in  Israel's  God  was  so  evidently  the  bond 
that  bound  Israel  together,  that  for  the  common  man  patriotism 
and  reUgion  were  in  danger  of  being  regarded  as  one  and  the  same 
thing. 

It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  out  of  Samuel's  time  and  from 
the  forces  which  Samuel  set  in  motion,  there  came  two  movements  which 
changed  the  course  of  the  nation's  history:  an  outward  movement  for 
independence,  and  an  inward  movement  for  monarchy.  A  revival  of 
rehgion  could  not  fail  to  rouse  the  subjected  Hebrews  against  their 
oppressors,  the  Philistines.  The  reverses  they  suffered  in  battle  against 
their  better  armed  and  better  led  enemies  put  it  into  their  minds  to 
set  up  a  king,  "like  all  the  nations." 

Samuel,  as  the  national  leader,  was  God's  agent  in  selecting,  con- 
secrating, and  establishing  the  first  king.  He  chose  Saul,  of  the  tribe 
of  Benjamin,  a  man  of  heroic  proportions  though  of  modest  demeanor. 
Ch.  9  : 2,  21.  His  choice  met  the  popular  approval,  at  first  with  gen- 
eral and  outward  acquiescence,  though  with  much  inward  reserve 
and  individual  revolt;  but  after  his  first  successful  campaign  with 
universal  loyalty.     Ch.  10  :  27;  11  :  12-15. 

That  first  military  effort  of  the  new  monarch  was  against  the  Am- 
monites. But  a  greater  test  remained  in  the  menace  of  the  Philistines, 
whose  garrisons  at  strategic  points  in  the  mountains  of  Israel  served  to 
keep  the  tribes  in  check.  Under  those  circumstances  Saul  was  cau- 
tious, for  he  had  but  a  small  force,  inadequately  armed,  at  his  dis- 
posal. But  the  initiative,  for  which  all  Israel  waited,  was  taken  by 
Saul's  son,  Jonathan.  Unknown  to  his  father,  Jonathan,  accom- 
panied only  by  his  armor-bearer,  but  encouraged  by  an  indication  of 
God's  will  and  by  the  enemy's  slackness,  ch.  14  :  12,  attacked  boldly 
a  Philistine  garrison  that  relied  too  much  on  the  natural  strength  of 
its  position.  He  began  in  this  way  a  panic  in  the  enemy's  ranks,  and 
soon  drew  after  him  in  pursuit  of  them  not  only  Saul's  small  army 
but  multitudes  of  Hebrews  who  in  their  hiding  places  only  waited  such 
a  signal  to  fall  upon  the  hated  oppressor.  The  victory  of  Michmash 
was  overwhelming,  the  mountain  country  was  cleared  of  the  Phil- 


OLD    TESTAMENT   TIMES  27 

istines,  and  an  independent  people  began  to  enjoy  the  reign  of  their 
first  king. 

Unhappily  Saul  did  not  prove  himself  so  well  equipped  for  the 
kingship  in  character  and  disposition  as  in  personal  prowess.  Jealousy, 
natural  in  a  king  whose  claim  to  authority  was  so  new  and  weak,  was 
heightened  in  Saul  by  a  malady  that  induced  fits  of  sullenness  and  rage. 
His  humihty  and  modesty  of  other  days  gave  place  to  envy,  vanity, 
and  cruelty.  Even  God's  express  commands  through  the  same  prophet 
on  whose  divine  commission  Saul's  claim  to  the  throne  rested  were 
not  heeded,  for  Samuel  had  to  rebuke  him  for  disobedience  and  only 
refrained  from  publicly  rejecting  him  at  Saul's  abject  entreaty.  Ch. 
15  :  30. 

Room  was  found  in  Saul's  heart  for  jealousy  of  the  popularity  and 
success  of  David,  ch.  18  : 8,  the  young  man  of  Bethlehem  in  Judah 
whom  at  first  he  had  loved  and  attached  to  his  person,  ch.  16  :21. 
Jonathan,  though  heir  to  his  father's  throne  and  aware  that  David  had 
been  designated  as  Jehovah's  choice  for  king,  ch.  20  :  15,  31,  had  noth- 
ing but  affection  for  David  his  friend.  But  Saul  pursued  David  openly, 
after  failing  in  repeated  secret  attempts  to  make  away  with  him.  And 
the  close  of  Saul's  life  is  marred  by  his  vindictive  pursuit  of  his  rival, 
till  death  in  battle  with  the  Philistines  at  Mount  Gilboa  brought  the 
first  king  of  Israel  to  a  miserable  end  and  left  the  way  open  for  David 
to  become  his  successor. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VII 

1.  Who  shares  with  Samuel  the  leadership  of  Israel  in  the  time  of 

transition  from  the  judges  to  the  kings,  and  what  relation  did  he 
bear  to  Samuel? 

2.  What  was  a  prophet,  what  is  meant  by  the  prophetic  order,  and 

what  is  Samuel's  particular  service  and  distinction  among  the 
prophets? 

3.  What  motive  led  to  the  popular  demand  for  a  king,  and  how  did 

Samuel  as  God's  representative  regard  this  demand? 

4.  Sketch  the  character  of  Saul.    What  was  his  achievement  for  Israel? 

Wherein  did  he  fail? 

5.  Compare  Saul  and  Jonathan  in  abihty  and  character. 


28  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

LESSON  VIII 
David  and  Solomon :  Psalms  and  Wisdom 

The  Second  Book  of  Samuel;  I  Kings,  Chapters  1  to  11; 
I  Chronicles,  Chaptfer  10  to  II  Chronicles,  Chapter  9 

One  of  Saul's  sons,  Ish-bosheth,  for  a  short  time  after  the  death  of 
his  father  and  brothers  in  battle,  attempted  to  maintain  his  right  to 
succeed  Saul  on  the  throne.  But  when  Abner,  his  kinsman  and  the 
head  of  the  army,  turned  to  David,  son  of  Jesse,  who  was  already- 
reigning  at  Hebron  as  king  over  Judah,  all  the  tribes  followed  him. 
Both  Ish-bosheth  and  Abner  soon  perished. 

With  his  new  dignity  David  promptly  acquired  a  new  capital,  better 
suited  than  Hebron  in  location  and  strength  to  be  the  nation's  center. 
He  captured  the  fortress  of  Jebus,  five  miles  north  of  Bethlehem,  his 
old  home,  from  its  Canaanitish  defenders,  and  enlarged,  strengthened, 
and  beautified  it.  Under  its  ancient  name  of  Jerusalem  he  made  it 
both  the  political  and  the  religious  capital  of  Israel. 

The  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  which  in  Eli's  time  had  been  captured  by 
the  Philistines,  had  been  returned  by  them,  and  for  many  years  had 
rested  in  a  private  house,  was  regarded  as  the  very  heart  and  symbol 
of  the  national  religion.  David  therefore  brought  it  first  to  Jerusalem, 
and  instead  of  uniting  with  it  its  former  housing,  the  old  Mosaic  taber- 
nacle, he  gave  it  a  temporary  home  in  a  tent,  intending  to  build  a  splen- 
did temple  when  he  should  have  peace.  But  war  continued  through 
the  days  of  David,  and  at  God's  direction  the  erection  of  a  temple, 
save  for  certain  preparations,  was  left  to  Solomon,  David's  successor. 

David  was  victorious  in  war.  His  success  showed  itself  in  the  en- 
largement of  Israel's  boundaries,  the  complete  subjection — for  the 
time — of  all  alien  elements  in  the  land,  and  the  alUance  with  Hiram, 
king  of  Tyre,  with  the  great  building  operations  which  this  alliance 
made  possible.  A  royal  palace  formed  the  center  of  a  court  such  as 
other  sovereigns  maintained,  and  David's  court  and  even  his  family 
were  exposed  to  the  same  corrupting  influences  as  power,  wealth, 
jealousy,  and  faction  have  everywhere  introduced.  Absalom,  his 
favorite  son,  ill  requited  his  father's  love  and  trust  by  organizing  a 
revolt  against  him.  It  failed,  but  not  until  it  had  driven  the  king,  now 
an  old  man,  into  temporary  exile  and  had  let  loose  civil  war  upon  the 
land. 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  29 


Solomon,  designated  by  David  to  succeed  him,  did  not  gain  the 
throne  without  dispute,  but  the  attempt  of  Adonijah,  another  son,  to 
seize  the  throne  failed  in  spite  of  powerful  support.  The  forty-year 
reign  of  Solomon  was  the  golden  age  of  Hebrew  history — the  age  to 
which  all  subsequent  times  looked  back.  Rapid  growth  of  commerce, 
construction,  art,  and  literature  reflected  the  inward  condition  of 
peace  and  the  outward  ties  with  other  lands  of  culture.  But  with  art 
came  idolatry;  with  construction  came  ostentation  and  oppression; 
with  commerce  came  luxury.  The  splendor  of  Jerusalem,  wherein 
Solomon  "made  silver  .  .  .  to  be  as  stones,  and  cedars  ...  as 
the  sycomore- trees,"  I  Kings  10  :  27,  contained  in  itseK  the  seeds  of 
dissolution. 

However,  there  are  two  great  types  of  literature  which  found  their 
characteristic  expression  in  the  days  of  David  and  Solomon  and  are 
always  associated  with  their  names — the  psalm  with  David,  and  the 
proverb  (or,  more  broadly,  "wisdom")  with  Solomon.  Kingdom, 
temple  and  palace  have  long  since  passed  away,  but  the  Psalter  and 
the  books  of  Wisdom  are  imperishable  monuments  of  the  united 
monarchy. 

The  Psalms 

The  Psalter  is  a  collection  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  poems,  of  various 
length,  meter,  and  style.  As  now  arranged  it  is  divided  into  five  books, 
but  there  is  evidence  that  earUer  collections  and  arrangements  preceded 
the  present.  Among  the  earhest  productions,  judged  both  by  form  and 
by  matter,  are  those  psalms  which  bear  the  superscription  *'of  David," 
though  it  would  not  be  safe  to  assert  that  every  such  psalm  came 
from  David's  own  pen  or  that  none  not  so  labeled  is  not  of  Davidic 
origin.  Judged  alike  from  the  narrative  in  the  book  of  Samuel,  and 
from  the  traditions  scattered  in  other  books  as  early  as  Amos,  ch.  6  : 5, 
and  as  late  as  Chronicles,  I  Chron.  15  :  16  to  16  :  43;  ch.  25,  David  was 
both  a  skilled  musician  himself  and  an  organizer  of  music  for  public 
worship.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  to  find  a  body  of  rehgious 
poems  ascribed  to  him,  which  not  only  evidence  his  piety  and  good 
taste,  but  also,  though  individual  in  tone,  are  well-adapted  to  com- 
mon use  at  the  sanctuary. 

The  psalms  are  poems.  Their  poetry  is  not  simply  one  of  substance, 
but  also  a  poetry  of  form.  Rime,  our  famihar  device,  is  of  course  ab- 
sent, but  there  is  rhythm,  although  it  is  not  measured  in  the  same 


30  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

strict  way  as  in  most  of  our  poetry.  The  most  striking  and  char- 
acteristic mark  of  Hebrew  poetic  form  is  the  parallel  structure:  two 
companion  lines  serve  together  to  complete  a  single  thought,  as  the 
second  either  repeats,  supplements,  empjiasizes,  illustrates,  or  con- 
trasts with  the  first. 

Proverbs;  Job;  Ecclesiastes 

Poetry  is  also  a  term  to  which  the  book  of  Proverbs  and  most  of  the 
other  productions  of  "Wisdom"  are  entitled.  While  they  are  chiefly 
didactic  (that  is,  intended  for  instruction)  instead  of  lyric  (emotional 
self-expression),  nevertheless  the  Wisdom  books  are  almost  entirely 
written  in  rhythmic  parallelism  and  contain  much  matter  unsuited  to 
ordinary  prose  expression.  In  the  Revised  Version  the  manner  of 
printing  shows  to  the  English  reader  at  a  glance  what  parts  are  prose 
and  what  are  poetry  (compare,  for  example,  Job,  ch.  2  with  Job,  ch.  3) , 
though  it  must  be  admitted  that  a  hard  and  fast  line  cannot  be  drawn 
between  them.    Compare  Eccl.,  ch.  7  with  Proverbs. 

"The  wise,"  as  a  class  of  public  teachers  in  the  nation  (see  Jer. 
18  :  18),  associated  their  beginnings  with  King  Solomon  (Prov.  24  :  23; 
25  : 1),  whose  wisdom  is  testified  to  in  the  book  of  Kings,  as  well  as 
his  speaking  of  "proverbs,"  that  is,  pithy  sayings  easy  to  remember  and 
teach,  mostly  of  moral  import.  I  Kings  4  :  29-34.  But  the  profound- 
est  theme  of  wisdom  was  the  moral  government  of  God  as  seen  in  his 
works  and  ways.  The  mysteries  with  which  all  men,  to-day  as  well  as 
in  ancient  times,  must  grapple  when  they  seek  to  harmonize  their 
faith  in  a  just  and  good  God  with  such  undeniable  facts  as  prosperous 
sinners  and  suffering  saints,  led  to  the  writing  of  such  books  as  Job 
(the  meaning  of  a  good  man's  adversities)  and  Ecclesiastes  (the  vanity 
of  all  that  mere  experience  and  observation  of  life  afford).  In  the 
case  of  these  Wisdom  books,  as  in  that  of  the  Psalms,  the  oldest  name — 
that  of  the  royal  founder — is  not  to  be  taken  as  the  exclusive  author. 
Solomon,  like  David,  made  the  beginnings;  others  collected,  edited, 
developed,  and  completed. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VIII 

1.  In  what  tribe  and  town  did  David  first  reign  as  king?  How  did  he 
secure  a  new  capital  when  he  became  king  of  all  Israel?  How  and 
why  did  he  make  this  the  religious  capital  also? 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  31 

2.  What  advantages  and  disadvantages  did  David's  continual  wars, 

and  his  imitation  of  other  kings'  courts,  bring  to  him,  his  family, 
and  his  people? 

3.  What  was  David's  part  in  the  development  of  religious  poetry? 

How  does  Hebrew  poetry  differ  generally  from  English  poetry  in 
form?  Name  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  written  chiefly  or 
wholly  in  poetry. 

4.  Who  built  the  first  Temple?    Who  were  "the  wise"  in  Israel,  whom 

did  they  venerate  as  their  royal  patron,  and  what  did  they  aim  to 
accomplish  by  their  writings? 

LESSON  IX 
The  Kingdom  of  Israel 

I  Kings,  Chapter  12  to  II  Kings,  Chapter  17 

With  the  death  of  Solomon  came  the  lasting  division  of  the  tribes 
into  two  kingdoms,  a  northern  and  a  southern,  known  as  the  Kingdom 
of  Israel  and  the  Kingdom  of  Judah.  Rehoboam  on  his  accession  an- 
nounced a  policy  of  repression  and  even  oppression  that  alienated  com- 
pletely the  loyalty  of  Ephraim  and  the  other  northern  tribes,  which 
were  never  attached  to  the  house  of  David  in  the  same  way  as  the 
tribe  of  Judah  was.  Under  a  man  of  Ephraim,  therefore,  Jeroboam  the 
son  of  Nebat,  who  in  earlier  years  had  challenged  even  Solomon's  title, 
the  ten  tribes  revolted  from  Rehoboam  and  established  a  separate  state. 

Rehoboam  found  himself  too  weak  to  prevent  this  secession,  and  he 
and  his  descendants  of  David's  dynasty  had  to  content  themselves  with 
the  narrow  boundaries  of  Judah.  To  be  sure,  in  Jerusalem  they  pos- 
sessed the  authorized  center  of  public  worship  for  the  whole  nation. 
It  was  to  offset  this  advantage  that  Jeroboam  made  Bethel,  that  spot 
associated  in  the  minds  of  the  people  with  the  patriarchs  themselves, 
his  religious  capital.  And,  influenced  perhaps  by  the  Egyptian  example 
of  steer  worship  (for  he  had  long  lived  as  a  fugitive  in  Egypt  in  Solo- 
mon's reign),  he  made  golden  steers  and  placed  them  in  the  sanctuary  at 
Bethel  and  in  that  at  Dan  in  the  extreme  north.  (See  close  of  Lesson 
VI.)  To  these  places  and  under  these  visible  symbols  of  brute  force,  Jero- 
boam summoned  his  people  to  worship  Jehovah.  It  was  the  old  na- 
tional religion  but  in  the  degraded  form  of  an  image  worship  forbidden 
by  the  Mosaic  Commandments. 


32  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

A  throne  thus  built  on  mere  expediency  could  not  endure.  Jero- 
boam's son  was  murdered  after  a  two  years'  reign.  Nor  did  this  usurper 
succeed  in  holding  the  throne  for  his  house  any  longer  than  Jeroboam's 
house  had  lasted.  At  length  Omri,  commander  of  the  army,  succeeded 
in  founding  a  dynasty  that  furnished  four  kings.  Ahab,  son  of  Omri, 
who  held  the  throne  the  longest  of  these  four,  is  the  king  with  whom  we 
become  best  acquainted  of  all  the  northern  monarchs.  This  is  partly 
because  of  the  relations  between  Ahab  and  Elijah  the  prophet.  Ahab's 
name  is  also  linked  with  that  of  his  queen,  the  notorious  Jezebel,  a 
princess  of  Tyre,  who  introduced  the  worship  of  the  Tyrian  Baal  into 
Israel  and  even  persecuted  all  who  adhered  to  the  national  religion. 

This  alliance  with  Tyre,  and  the  marriage  of  Ahab's  daughter  to  a 
prince  of  Judah,  secured  Israel  on  the  north  and  the  south,  and  left 
Ahab  free  to  pursue  his  father's  strong  policy  toward  the  peoples  to 
the  east,  Moab  and  Syria.  Upon  Ahab's  death  in  battle  against  Syria, 
Moab  revolted,  and  the  two  sons  of  Ahab,  in  spite  of  help  from  the 
house  of  David  in  Jerusalem,  were  unable  to  stave  off  the  ruin  that 
threatened  the  house  of  Omri.  Jehu,  supported  by  the  army  in  which 
he  was  a  popular  leader,  seized  the  throne,  with  the  usual  assassination 
of  all  akin  to  the  royal  family.  His  inspiration  to  revolt  had  been  due 
to  Jehovah's  prophets,  and  his  program  was  the  overthrow  of  Baal 
worship  in  favor  of  the  old  national  religion.  Though  Jehu  thoroughly 
destroyed  the  followers  of  Jezebel's  foreign  gods,  he  and  his  sons  after 
him  continued  to  foster  the  idolatrous  shrines  at  Bethel  and  Dan,  so 
that  the  verdict  of  the  sacred  writer  upon  them  is  unfavorable:  they 
"departed  not  from  all  the  sins  of  Jeroboam  the  son  of  Nebat,  where- 
with he  made  Israel  to  sin." 

Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  II  Kings  3  : 4,  lived  long  enough  to  see  his 
oppressors,  the  kings  of  Omri's  house,  overthrown  and  the  land  of 
Israel  reduced  to  great  weakness.  (See  article  "Moabite  Stone"  in  any 
Bible  dictionary.)  Jehu's  son,  Jehoahaz,  witnessed  the  deepest  humilia- 
tion of  Israel  at  the  hands  of  Syria.  But  it  was  not  many  years  after 
Mesha's  boasting  that  affairs  took  a  complete  turn.  Jehu's  grandson, 
Jehoash,  spurred  by  Elisha  the  prophet  even  on  his  deathbed,  began 
the  recovery  which  attained  its  zenith  in  the  reign  of  Jeroboam  II, 
fourth  king  of  Jehu's  line.  Though  little  is  told  of  this  reign  in  the 
Book  of  Kings,  it  is  clear  that  at  no  time  since  Solomon's  reign  had  a 
king  of  Israel  ruled  over  so  large  a  territory.  It  was  the  last  burst  of 
glory  before  total  extinction. 


OLD   TESTAMENT  TIMES  33 


There  is  a  history  lying  between  the  reigns  of  Jeroboam  I,  founder 
of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  and  of  Jeroboam  II,  its  last  prosperous 
monarch,  which  has  scarcely  been  referred  to  in  this  brief  sketch  of  its 
kings.    It  is  the  history  of  Jehovah's  prophets. 

Hosea;  Amos;  Jonah 

.  Reference  has  ah-eady  been  made  to  the  rise  of  the  prophetic  order 
as  such,  in  the  time  of  Samuel.  (Lesson  VII.)  With  each  crisis  in  the 
affairs  of  the  nation  God  raised  up  some  notable  messenger  with  a  word 
from  him  to  the  people  or  to  the  ruler.  But  all  along  the  fire  of  devotion 
to  God  and  country  was  kept  alive  by  humbler,  unnamed  men,  who 
supphed  a  sound  nucleus  of  behevers  even  to  this  Northern  Kingdom 
with  its  idolatrous  shrines  and  its  usurping  princes  I  Kings  18  •4- 
19  :  18.  6         •    » 

The  greatest  names  are  those  of  Ehjah  and  Ehsha.  The  earher 
struggle  to  keep  Israel  true  to  Jehovah  focuses  in  these  two  men,  one 
the  worthy  successor  of  the  other.  Their  time  marked  perhaps  the 
lowest  ebb  of  true  rehgion  in  all  the  history  of  God's  Kingdom  on  earth. 
It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  such  stern,  strong  men  were  not  only 
raised  up  to  fight  for  the  God  of  Moses  and  Samuel  and  David,  but 
also  endowed  with  exceptional  powers,  to  work  wonders  and  signs  for 
the  encouragement  of  the  faithful  and  the  confounding  of  idolators 
and  sinners.    Such  was  the  purpose  of  their  notable  miracles. 

Ehjah  and  Elisha  wrote  nothing.  But  in  their  spirit  rose  up  Hosea 
and  Amos  a  century  later— men  who  have  left  a  record  of  their  proph- 
ecies in  the  books  that  bear  their  names.  Denunciation  of  sin,  espe- 
cially in  the  higher  classes,  announcement  of  impending  punishment  for 
that  sin,  and  promise  of  a  glorious,  if  distant,  future  of  pardon,  peace, 
and  prosperity  through  God's  grace  and  man's  sincere  repentanc^- 
these  things  form  the  substance  of  their  eloquent  messages.  Hosea  is 
noteworthy  for  his  striking  parable  of  a  patient  husband  and  a  faith- 
less wife  to  illustrate  God's  love  and  Israel's  infidehty.  Amos,  himself 
a  herdsman  from  Judah  sent  north  to  denounce  a  king  and  people 
not  his  own,  is  startUng  in  the  suddenness  with  which  he  turns  the 
popular  rehgious  ideas  against  those  who  harbor  them.  See,  for  ex- 
ample, ch.  3  : 2,  where  Amos  makes  the  unique  "relation  between  Je- 
hovah and  Israel  the  reason,  not  for  Israel's  safety  from  Jehovah's 
wrath,  as  the  people  thought,  but  for  the  absolute  certainty  of  Israel's 
punishment  for  all  its  sins.    These  two  prophets,  the  last  of  the  Northern 


34  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

Kingdom,  had  the  melancholy  duty  of  predicting  the  utter  overthrow 
of  what  the  first  Jeroboam  had  set  up  in  rebellion  and  sin  two  centuries 
before. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  IX 

1.  When,  why,  and  under  whose  lead  did  the  ten  tribes  break  away 

from  the  house  of  David? 

2.  Outline  the  fortunes  of  the  kings  of  Israel  from  Jeroboam  I  to  Jero- 

boam II. 

3.  Who  were  the  outstanding  prophets  in  the  Northern  Kingdom,  and 

what  was  the  substance  of  their  messages? 


LESSON  X 
The  Kingdom  of  Judah,  to  Hezekiah 

I  Kings,  Chapter  12  to  II  Kings,  Chapter  17;  II  Chronicles,  Chapters  10  to  28; 
Obadiah;  Joel;  Micah;  Isaiah  (in  part) 

The  revolt  of  Jeroboam  and  the  ten  northern  tribes  reduced  the 
dominion  ruled  by  Rehoboam,  grandson  of  David,  to  narrow  bounds. 
Before  his  disastrous  reign  was  over,  Judah  was  still  further  humiliated 
by  an  invasion  under  Shishak,  a  Pharaoh  of  the  twenty-second  dynasty 
of  Egypt,  who  despoiled  Jerusalem  of  the  treasures  which  Solomon 
had  amassed.  After  the  death  of  Rehoboam  and  the  short  reign  of  his 
son,  Abijam,  Judah  was  ruled  successively  by  Asa  and  Jehoshaphat, 
each  succeeding  his  father  peacefully  and  each  reigning  long  and,  on 
the  whole,  prosperously.  Another  invasion  from  the  south  which 
threatened  to  be  as  disastrous  as  that  of  Shishak,  under  "Zerah  the 
Ethiopian"  was  repelled  by  Asa.  Internal  reforms,  both  religious  and 
civil,  were  carried  out  by  these  vigorous  rulers. 

The  natural  rivalry  and  intermittent  warfare  between  north  and 
south,  which  had  arisen  through  the  division  under  Rehoboam,  ceased 
for  a  time  after  Jehoshaphat  entered  into  alliance  with  King  Ahab  and 
took  Athaliah,  Ahab's  daughter,  as  wife  for  his  son  Joram.  The  kings 
of  Samaria  and  Jerusalem  made  common  cause  against  Syria  and 
Moab,  and  a  temporary  success  seemed  to  crown  the  new  policy.  But 
prophets  of  Jehovah  repeatedly  warned  the  king  who  sat  on  David's 
throne  of  the  danger  to  the  true  religion  from  such  an  alliance  with 
Baal  worshipers. 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  35 

It  was  not  long  before  their  warnings  were  justified  by  the  facts. 
Athahah,  Joram's  queen,  was  the  daughter  not  only  of  Ahab  but  also 
of  Jezebel  and  brought  with  her  to  Jerusalem  the  fierce  spirit  and 
heathen  habits  of  her  Tyrian  mother.  King  Ahaziah  her  son  lost  his 
life  through  his  close  association  with  King  Jehoram  of  Israel,  his 
uncle,  for  Jehu  made  away  with  both  kings  at  the  same  time,  and  with 
all  the  princes  of  Judah,  kinsmen  of  Ahaziah,  on  whom  he  could  lay 
his  hands.  The  old  tigress  at  Jerusalem,  Athaliah,  now  turned  upon 
her  own  flesh  and  blood,  the  children  of  Ahaziah,  and  murdered  them 
all  so  as  to  secure  the  power  for  herself.  One  grandson  alone,  the 
infant  Joash,  escaped,  saved  by  an  aunt  who  hid  him  and  his  nurse 
from  the  cruel  queen  mother.  Six  years  later  this  child  was  proclaimed 
king  in  the  Temple  courts  by  Jehoiada,  the  high  priest.  AthaUah  was 
slain,  and  a  new  era  began  in  Judah  with  the  destruction  of  Baal  wor- 
ship and  the  repair  of  Jehovah's  Temple. 

Joash  was  too  weak  to  do  more  than  buy  off  the  king  of  Syria  when 
his  army  threatened  Jerusalem,  and  he  himself  met  his  death  in  a  con- 
spiracy. The  same  fate  befell  his  son  Amaziah,  after  a  reign  that  prom- 
ised well  but  was  wrecked  on  the  king's  ambition  to  subdue  the  North- 
ern Kingdom  under  him.  Uzziah  (or  Azariah)  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
though  for  half  of  his  long  reign  he  and  his  kingdom  seem  to  have 
been  in  a  state  of  vassalage  to  Jeroboam  II,  the  powerful  ruler  of  Israel. 
The  latter  part  of  Uzziah's  reign  was  more  prosperous,  in  spite  of  the 
king's  pitiable  state — for  he  was  stricken  with  leprosy  and  had  to  live 
apart.  It  was  on  this  account  that  he  associated  his  son  Jotham  with 
himself,  and  during  the  sixteen  years  of  Jotham's  reign — most  of  which 
was  included  within  the  long  nominal  reign  of  Uzziah — the  PhiUstines, 
Ammonites,  and  Arabians  were  defeated  in  warfare,  while  consider- 
able building  both  in  and  out  of  the  capital  helped  to  prepare  the  little 
kingdom  for  the  troublous  days  just  ahead. 

The  mighty  kingdom  of  Assyria,  with  its  capital  at  Nineveh  on  the 
Tigris  River,  was  the  force  which  God  used  to  punish  his  faithless 
people.  Lying  beyond  the  kingdoms  of  Syria,  Israel's  nearest  neigh- 
bors on  the  north,  AssjTia  was  not  at  first  felt  to  be  the  menace  which 
in  the  end  it  proved  to  be.  Whenever  Assyria  was  strong,  Syria  was 
weak,  and  the  king  in  Samaria  could  breathe  freely.  But  there  came 
a  day  when  a  king  of  unusual  power  ascended  the  throne  at  Nineveh, 
Tiglath-pileser  (or  Pul,  as  he  was  also  called,  see  II  Kings  15  :  19,  29), 
and  the  fate  of  both  Syria  and  Israel  was  sealed. 


36  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

Ahaz,  the  son  of  Jotham  who  had  just  died,  saw  in  this  Assyrian 
the  means  of  dehvering  Judah  out  of  the  hands  of  Pekah,  king  of  Israel, 
and  Rezin,  king  of  Syria,  who  had  joined  forces  to  capture  Jerusalem 
and  put  a  king  of  their  own  on  the  throne  of  David.  By  a  great  present 
Ahaz  bought  the  support  of  Tiglath-pileser,  who  sent  an  army  to 
attack  Judah's  foes.  Syria  was  devastated,  the  inhabitants  were  car- 
ried away  captive  from  all  the  eastern  and  northern  parts  of  Israel 
(Gilead  and  Galilee),  Phoenicia  and  Philistia  were  overrun,  and  Ahaz, 
among  other  kings,  went  to  Damascus  in  person  to  do  homage  to  this 
irresistible  conqueror. 

In  the  Northern  Kingdom,  reduced  now  to  little  more  than  the  cen- 
tral highlands  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  Hoshea,  a  proteg6  of  the 
Assyrian  king,  reigned  for  a  few  years.  But  he  and  his  foohsh  advisers, 
unable  to  read  the  signs  of  the  times,  looked  to  Egypt  for  help  and 
revolted.  This  time  the  end  had  come.  Shalmaneser,  now  on  the 
Assyrian  throne,  came  against  Samaria,  and  after  a  siege  lasting  al- 
most three  years,  took  and  destroyed  it.  The  whole  population  was 
carried  away,  after  the  drastic  policy  of  deportation  practiced  by 
Assyria,  and  an  alien  population  was  introduced  to  take  their  places. 
Thus  ended  the  Northern  Kingdom  after  lasting  a  little  over  two 
centuries.  And  thus  began  that  strange  mixed  people,  known  as  the 
Samaritans,  who  settled  in  the  central  part  of  the  Holy  Land. 

The  effect  of  Israel's  doom  upon  the  minds  of  the  king  and  people  of 
Judah  may  be  imagined.  From  the  pages  of  Micah  and  Isaiah,  con- 
temporary prophets  in  Judah,  can  be  seen  how  God  was  speaking  to 
Judah  through  the  ruin  of  Israel.  Ahaz's  policy  of  relying  on  human 
help  from  Assyria  instead  of  divine  help  from  Jehovah  was  refuted  by 
its  outcome.  With  Syria  and  Samaria  ruined,  there  lay  nothing  be- 
tween Jerusalem  and  the  Assyrian.  And  it  is  in  Hezekiah's  reign — 
the  next  after  that  of  Ahaz — that  the  ruthless  conqueror  from  Nineveh 
is  found  overrunning  Judah  itself.  How  king,  prophet,  and  people 
met  that  crisis  will  begin  the  next  lesson,  for  it  belongs  to  the  period 
when  the  Southern  Kingdom  is  all  that  remained  of  the  organized  He- 
brew nation  in  Palestine. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  X 

1.  What  were  the  relations  between  the  kingdoms  of  Judah  and  Israel 
in  general? 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  37 

2.  Who  altered  these  relations  for  a  time?     How?     With  what  con- 

sequences for  Judah's  pohtics  and  religion? 

3.  Who  was  Joash,  and  how  did  he  come  to  the  throne? 

4.  What  was  the  occasion  of  Judah's  first  intimate  contact  with  Assyria? 

Discuss  Ahaz's  policy  in  the  light  of  Isa.  7  : 1-9. 

5.  WTiat  were  the  stages  in  the  downfall  of  the  Northern  Kingdom? 

What  became  of  the  conquered  people,  and  who  replaced  them? 
See  II  Kings,  ch.  17. 

LESSON  XI 
Judah,  from  Hezekiah  to  the  Exile 

II  Kings,  Chapters  18  to  25  ;  II  Chronicles,  Chapters  29  to  36; 

Isaiah  (in  part);  Nahum;  Habakkuk;  Zephaniah;  Jeremiah; 

Lamentations;  Ezekiel,  Chapters  1  to  32 

Although  outwardly  Judah  appeared  to  be  the  same  after  the  fall 
of  the  Northern  Kingdom  as  before,  it  was  not  so.  A  very  different 
situation  confronted  Hezekiah  from  that  which  had  confronted  his 
father  Ahaz  when  he  called  on  Assyria  for  help  against  Syria  and 
Israel.  Now  there  were  no  "buffer  states"  between  Assyria's  empire 
and  little  Judah.  And  it  was  only  a  score  of  years  after  Samaria  fell 
when  Jerusalem  felt  the  full  force  of  AssjTia.  Sennacherib,  fourth  in 
that  remarkable  list  of  the  six  kings^  who  made  Nineveh  mistress  of 
Asia,  sent  an  army  to  besiege  Jerusalem,  wdth  a  summons  to  Hezekiah 
to  surrender  his  capital. 

A  different  spirit  ruled  this  king.  Isaiah,  the  same  great  prophet 
who  had  counseled  Ahaz  to  resist  Pekah  and  Rezin  but  had  failed  to 
move  him  to  faith  in  Jehovah,  found  now  in  Ahaz's  son  a  vital  faith  in 
the  God  of  Israel  in  this  far  sorer  crisis.  In  reponse  to  that  faith  Isaiah 
was  commissioned  by  God  to  assure  king  and  people  of  a  great  deliver- 
ance. The  case,  to  all  human  seeming,  w^as  hopeless.  But  the  re- 
sources at  God's  disposal  are  boundless,  and  at  one  blow  "the  angel 
of  Jehovah"  reduced  the  proud  Assyrian  host  to  impotency  and  drove 
them  away  in  retreat.  II  Kings  19  :  35.  Scribes  who  record  the 
achievements  of  ancient  monarchs  are  not  accustomed  to  betray  anj-- 
of  the  failures  of  their  royal  heroes.    But  between  the  lines  of  Sennach- 


1  Tiglath-pileser,  745-727  B.C.;  Shalmaneser,  727-722;  Sargon,  722-705;  Sennach- 
erib, 705-681;  Esar-haddon,  680-668;  Ashurbanipal,  668-626. 


38  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 


erib's  records  we  can  read  confirmation  of  the  Bible's  report  of  some 
great  catastrophe  to  Assyrian  arms.  Jehovah  rewarded  the  faith  of 
his  people  in  him. 

The  seventh  century  before  Christ,  which  began  just  after  this  event, 
witnessed  both  the  rise  of  Assyria  to  its  greatest  height,  and  its  sudden 
fall  before  the  Chaldeans,  a  people  from  the  Persian  Gulf,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  mastering  ancient  Babylon  and  in  winning  for  it  a  greater 
glory  than  it  had  ever  known  in  former  times.  Even  in  Hezekiah's 
reign  these  Chaldeans,  under  their  leader  Merodach-baladan,  were 
already  challenging  the  supremacy  of  Nineveh,  and  in  doing  so  were 
seeking  allies  in  the  west.  When  the  king  of  Judah  yielded  to  the 
dictates  of  pride  and  showed  to  these  Chaldean  ambassadors  his  treas- 
ures, Isaiah  announced  to  him  that  the  final  ruin  of  Judah  was  to  come 
in  future  days  from  this  source,  and  not  from  Nineveh  as  might  then 
have  been  anticipated. 

Manasseh,  Hezekiah's  successor,  was  indeed  taken  as  a  captive  to 
Babylon  for  a  time,  but  the  captor  was  a  king  of  Assyria.  II  Chron. 
33  :  11.  Manasseh  was  thus  punished  for  his  great  personal  wicked- 
ness, for  he  is  pictured  as  the  worst  of  all  the  descendants  of  David,  an 
idolator  and  a  cruel  persecutor.  Yet  his  reign  was  long,  and  at  its 
close  he  is  said  to  have  repented  and  turned  to  Jehovah.  But  this  did 
not  prevent  his  son  Amon  from  following  in  his  evil  ways.  A  revolt  of 
the  people  within  two  years  removed  Amon,  however,  and  set  his 
young  son,  Josiah,  upon  the  throne.  Josiah's  reign  is  important  for 
the  history  of  Judah. 

By  putting  together  all  that  can  be  gleaned  from  Kings,  Chronicles, 
and  the  prophets,  it  can  be  seen  that  Josiah  gradually  came  more  and 
more  under  the  influence  of  the  party  in  Judah  that  sought  to  purge 
the  nation  of  its  idolatry  and  bring  it  back,  not  merely  to  the  com- 
paratively pure  worship  and  life  of  Hezekiah's  and  David's  daj^s,  but 
to  an  ideal  observance  of  the  ancient  Law  of  Moses.  The  climax  in  the 
progressive  reformation  in  Judah  was  reached  in  Josiah's  eighteenth 
year,  622  B.C.,  when  the  king  and  all  the  people  entered  into  a  ''solemn 
league  and  covenant"  to  obey  the  Law  of  Moses  both  as  a  religious 
obligation  and  as  a  social  program. 

The  Law  book  which  was  found  while  workmen  were  restoring  the 
Temple  passed  through  the  hands  of  Hilkiah,  the  high  priest,  who 
therefore  committed  himself,  together  with  the  priests,  to  this  reform. 
And  what  the  true  prophets  of  Jehovah  thought  of  it  may  be  seen,  for 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  39 

example,  from  Jer.,  ch.  11,  which  tells  that  this  prophetic  leader  preached 
in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  and  through  the  cities  of  Judah,  saying, 
"Hear  ye  the  words  of  this  covenant,  and  do  them." 

Josiah  attempted  to  attach  to  Jerusalem  all  those  elements  in  the 
territory  of  the  former  kingdom  of  Israel  which  were  in  sympathy  with 
Jehovah's  Law,  and  at  Bethel  itself  he  defiled  the  old  idolatrous  altar 
and  slew  its  priests.  In  fact,  it  was  on  northern  ground,  at  Megiddo, 
that  Josiah  met  his  tragic  end  and  the  new  wave  of  patriotic  enthusi- 
asm was  shattered,  when,  in  battle  against  Pharaoh-necho  and  a  great 
Egyptian  army,  the  king  of  Judah  was  killed. 

Josiah's  four  successors  were  weak  and  unworthy  of  David's  line. 
After  Jehoahaz,  the  son  whom  the  people  put  on  the  throne  to  succeed 
Josiah,  had  been  removed  by  Necho,  Jehoiakim,  another  son,  reigned 
for  eleven  years.  He  owed  his  throne  to  the  Pharaoh  and  was  at  first 
tributary  to  him.  But  early  in  his  reign  came  the  first  of  many  cam- 
paigns of  the  Chaldeans  into  Palestine,  as  Nebuchadnezzar,  master  of 
Asia,  extended  his  power  farther  and  farther  south  after  crushing  the 
Egyptians  at  Carchemish  in  605  B.C.  Jehoiakim  had  to  bow  to 
Nebuchadnezzar's  yoke  and  seems  to  have  lost  his  life  in  a  fruitless 
attempt  to  shake  it  off.  A  great  number  of  the  leaders  of  Judah, 
nobles,  priests,  soldiers,  and  craftsmen,  were  deported,  together  with 
Jehoiachin,  the  young  son  of  Jehoiakim,  who  had  worn  the  crown  but 
three  months,  598  b.c. 

For  eleven  years  more,  however,  the  remnant  of  Judah  maintained  a 
feeble  state  under  Zedekiah,  a  third  son  of  Josiah  and  the  last  of  David's 
line  to  mount  the  throne.  In  spite  of  his  solemn  oath  to  the  king  of 
Babylon  and  in  the  face  of  the  express  warnings  from  Jehovah  through 
his  prophets  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  this  weak  and  faithless  king  re- 
volted from  Babylon,  put  his  trust  in  the  Egyptian  army,  and  pre- 
pared to  stand  a  siege.  But  Jerusalem's  end  had  now  come,  as  Samaria's 
had  come  before,  and  through  a  breach  in  the  northern  wall  the  Chal- 
dean army  entered;  the  king  fled  and  was  captured,  blinded,  and 
deported,  and  the  whole  city,  including  houses,  w^alls,  gates,  and  even 
the  Temple — that  famous  Temple  of  Solomon  which  had  stood  nearly 
four  centuries — was  totally  destroyed,  587  b.c.  All  that  remained  of 
the  higher  classes,  together  with  the  population  of  Jerusalem  and  the 
chief  towns,  were  carried  away  to  Babylonia,  to  begin  that  exile  which 
had  been  threatened  even  in  the  Law,  and  predicted  by  many  of  the 
prophets,  as  the  extreme  penalty  for  disobedience  and  idolatry. 


40  X         TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XI 

1.  How  did  the  fall  of  Samaria  affect  the  Kingdom  of  Judah? 

2.  How  did  Hezekiah  meet  the  threats  of  Sennacherib?    What  was 

the  outcome? 

3.  Which  king  carried  through  a  reformation  of  religion?    What  was 

the  basis  of  the  covenant  he  imposed  on  Judah?     How  did  he 
meet  his  end? 

4.  Describe  the  relations  of  the  Chaldeans  to  Judah  in  the  time  of 

Hezekiah,  of  Jehoiakim,  of  Zedekiah? 

5.  When  did  Jerusalem  fall?     Did  it  fall  unexpectedly  and  without 

warning? 

LESSON  XII 
The  Exile  and  the  Restoration 

Ezekiel,  Chapters  33  to  48;  Daniel;  Ezra,  Chapters  1,  2 

When  the  northern  tribes  were  carried  away  by  Assyria  they  lost 
their  identity  in  the  mass  of  the  nations.  Only  individuals  from  among 
them  attached  themselves  to  the  organized  nucleus  of  Judah.  From 
that  time  the  one  tribe  of  Judah  stood  out  so  prominently  as  repre- 
sentative of  the  whole  nation,  that  "Jew"  (that  is,  man  of  Judah) 
has  been  equivalent  to  Hebrew.  Paul  says  that  he  was  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin;  the  aged  prophetess  Anna  is  said  to  have  been  of  the  tribe 
of  Asher,  Luke  2  :  36,  and  all  the  priests  were  of  course  of  the  tribe  of 
Levi;  yet  long  before  New  Testament  times  all  such  Israelites  were 
commonly  referred  to  as  "Jews." 

Judah  did  not  lose  its  identity  among  the  nations  when  Jerusalem 
fell.  The  Jews  who  were  not  deported,  among  them  the  prophet  Jere- 
miah, were  put  under  the  government  of  a  certain  Jewish  noble,  Geda- 
liah,  who  ruled  the  land  from  Mizpah  as  representative  of  the  great 
king.  Many  fugitives  returned  to  live  under  his  sway  when  they 
found  that  it  was  beneficent.  But  Gedaliah  was  soon  murdered  by  a 
prince  of  David's  house,  whom  the  king  of  Ammon  had  set  on  to  do 
this  mischief  and  then  received  and  protected.  The  other  Jewish 
leaders  feared  to  remain  within  reach  of  the  king  of  Babylon  after  this 
insult  to  him,  and  against  the  warnings  of  Jeremiah  they  all  went 
down  to  Egypt.  That  removal  ended  all  organized  Jewish  life  in 
Palestine  for  nearly  half  a  century. 


OLD  TESTAMENT  TIMES  41 

In  Babylon,  however,  an  event  occurred  long  before  that  time  had 
elapsed,  which  marked  the  political  recognition  of  Judah's  separate 
identity  as  a  nation.  That  event  was  the  release  of  Jehoiachin  from 
prison  by  the  new  king  of  Babylon,  Evil-merodach,  successor  of  Neb- 
uchadnezzar. Jehoiachin,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  unfortunate 
prince  of  David's  Hne  who  held  the  throne  only  three  months  after  his 
father  Jehoiakim's  death  and  was  then  deported  to  Babylon  in  598. 
From  that  time  on,  through  all  the  remainder  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  long 
reign,  he  had  been  imprisoned  in  Babylon.  But  now  he  was  not  only 
released,  but  given  a  pension  from  the  royal  treasury  for  the  rest  of  his 
life  and  a  standing  superior  to  all  the  other  captive  princes  in 
Babylon. 

This  was  in  562,  and  many  Jewish  hearts  must  already  have  begun 
to  beat  with  fresh  hope,  as  the  old  loyalty  to  David's  house  flamed  up, 
and  the  promises  of  a  restoration  recorded  in  the  old  Law  and  the 
Prophets  were  echoed  by  the  prophet  of  the  Exile,  Ezekiel.  This 
man,  himself  a  priest  by  birth,  had  been  carried  to  Babylon  at  the  same 
time  as  Jehoiachin,  and  through  all  those  years  of  doom  had  there 
preached  to  his  countrymen,  first  to  the  portion  exiled  with  him  while 
Jerusalem  still  stood,  but  after  587  to  the  whole  people  united  in  a 
common  catastrophe.  His  voice  had  even  reached  to  Jerusalem,  as 
he  joined  Jeremiah  in  reminding  King  Zedekiah  of  his  oath  to  Neb- 
uchadnezzar. With  the  elevation  of  Jehoiachin  and  the  stirring  of 
the  national  hopes,  Ezekiel  became  the  prophet  of  hope.  He  pictures 
the  breath  of  Jehovah  stirring  to  life  the  dry  bones  in  the  valley  of 
death.  Ezek.,  ch.  37.  And  he  warns  the  optimistic  people  that  only 
as  God  takes  away  from  them  their  old  stony  heart  and  gives  them  a 
heart  of  flesh,  and  sprinkles  clean  water  upon  them  to  cleanse  them 
from  their  pollution  through  idolatry,  can  they  be  fit  to  form  the  new 
community  wherein  God  shall  indeed  reign.  Ch.  36  :  25,  26.  What 
such  a  community  might  outwardly  and  visibly  resemble,  Ezekiel 
pictures  in  a  long,  detailed,  descriptive  vision  wherewith  his  book 
closes.     Chs.  40  to  48. 

Another  outstanding  Jew  of  the  Exile  was  a  man  of  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent type.  Daniel,  a  noble  youth  carried  away  from  Judah  to  Babylon 
at  the  first  clash  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  armies  with  the  Jews,  605  b.c, 
and  brought  up  at  the  court,  succeeded  through  interpreting  a  dream  of 
the  king  in  attracting  his  notice  and  winning  his  favor,  much  as  Joseph 
had  done  in  ancient  Egypt.    Dan.,  ch.  2.    From  his  position  of  political 


42  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

power,  Daniel  was  able,  doubtless,  to  minister  to  the  interests  of  his 
brethren,  the  Jewish  exiles.  Possibly  it  is  to  him  that  Jehoiachin  owed 
his  astonishing  reversal  of  fortune.  At  any  rate  Belshazzar,  the  last 
ruler  of  the  Chaldean  state,  still  maintained  Daniel  in  power,  in  spite 
of  the  very  solemn  warning  of  ruin  to  that  state  which  Daniel  fearlessly 
pronounced.  Ch.  5.  When  the  Persians  succeeded  the  Chaldeans  as 
masters  of  Babylon,  this  Jewish  statesman  still  held  his  high  post,  and 
retained  it  in  spite  of  the  bitter  enmity  of  officials  who  used  his  Jewish 
faith  as  a  handle  against  him.  Ch.  6.  In  fact,  there  is  no  better  way 
to  understand  the  favor  accorded  the  Jews  by  Cyrus,  the  Persian  con- 
queror, and  the  edicts  preserved  in  Ezra  1  : 2-4;  6  : 3-5,  than  by  sup- 
posing that  Daniel,  who  had  the  king's  ear,  brought  to  his  attention 
the  earlier  prophecies  of  Jeremiah  and  of  other  spokesmen  for  Jehovah, 
God  of  the  Jews. 

Certainly,  however  the  affair  was  managed,  it  turned  out  entirely 
to  the  Jews'  liking.  All  who  were  willing  to  return  to  Palestine  were 
permitted  and  encouraged  to  go.  They  were  assisted  by  the  gifts  of 
their  brethren  who  could  not,  or  would  not,  leave  Babylon.  They  bore 
back  with  them  the  old  vessels  for  the  service  of  the  sanctuary  which 
Nebuchadnezzar  had  carried  off.  And,  best  of  all,  they  took  with  them 
royal  authority  to  erect  the  Temple  of  Jehovah  on  its  ancient  site,  at 
the  expense  of  the  king  of  Persia,  that  is,  out  of  taxes  and  tribute  he  re- 
mitted. At  their  head  went  a  prince  of  the  old  royal  house,  and  a  high 
priest  who  was  grandson  of  that  high  priest  whom  Nebuchadnezzar 
had  executed  half  a  century  before.  Their  number  totaled  forty-two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty,  with  enough  slaves  in  addition  to 
make  the  entire  company  number  nearly  fifty  thousand. 

Their  purpose  was  threefold:  to  reoccupy  the  Holy  Land,  to  rebuild 
Jerusalem,  and  to  erect  a  temple  where  Solomon's  Temple  had  stood. 
We  should  be  likely  to  rate  the  importance  of  these  three  objects  in  the 
same  order  as  that  in  which  they  have  just  been  named.  But  not  so 
the  believing  Jew.  It  was  above  all  else  the  sacred  house  of  his  God 
that  he  wanted  to  see  restored,  so  that  the  prescribed  sacrifices  of  the 
Law  might  be  resumed,  the  nation's  sin  might  thus  be  atoned  for,  and 
God  might  once  more  visibly  dwell  among  his  people.  All  else  was  in 
order  to  this  one  great  end.  The  origin  of  Judaism,  which  lies  in  the 
movements  of  this  time,  cannot  be  understood  unless  this  supreme 
motive  is  clearly  grasped.  Hoj\'  Judaism  developed  under  the  new  con- 
ditions will  be  the  subject  of  the  next  lesson. 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  43 


QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XII 

1.  What  is  meant  by  ''a  Jew"? 

2.  How  did  government  of  Hebrews  by  a  Hebrew  come  to  an  end  in 

Palestine  for  the  first  time  since  Saul's  day? 

3.  What  was  the  first  political  event  to  arouse  the  exiled  Jews  from 

their  depression? 

4.  Compare  Ezekiel  and   Daniel  in  their  personality,   position,   and 

audience. 

5.  When  Cyrus  captured  Babylon  in  539,  what  did  he  do  for  the  Jews, 

and  how  came  he  to  do  it? 

6.  How  many  Jews  returned  to  Palestine  under  Cyrus,  and  what  was 

their  uppermost  motive? 

LESSON  XIII 
The  Jewish  State  Under  Persia 

Ezra,  Chapters  3  to  10;  Esther;  Nehemiah;  Haggai; 
Zechariah;  Malachi 

For  two  centuries  Judea,  like  the  rest  of  western  Asia,  was  under 
the  domination  of  the  Persians,  whose  great  royal  names,  Cyrus,  Darius, 
Xerxes,  Artaxerxes,  are  familiar  to  every  student  of  history.  The  Old 
Testament  spans  one  of  those  two  centuries  of  Persian  rule,  539-430, 
while  for  the  other  century,  430-332,  we  are  dependent  for  the  little  we 
know  about  the  Jews  upon  some  documents  recently  discovered  in 
Egypt,  an  occasional  notice  in  classical  historians,  and  the  brief  nar- 
rative of  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian  of  the  first  Christian  century. 

Even  in  the  century  covered  by  the  books  of  the  Bible  there  are  long 
stretches  of  silence  separating  periods  that  are  fairly  reported.  First 
comes  the  time  of  Zerubbabel  and  Jeshua,  the  leaders,  civil  and  religious, 
under  whom  the  Jews  returned  and  erected  the  Temple.  This  story 
carries  us,  though  with  a  seventeen-year  gap  in  its  midst,  from  538, 
the  year  after  Cyrus  took  Babylon,  to  515,  the  sixth  year  of  Darius  the 
Great,  and  is  recorded  in  the  first  six  chapters  of  the  book  of  Ezra.  To 
help  us  in  understanding  this  time  we  have  also  the  prophecies  of 
Haggai  and  Zechariah,  though  the  last  six  chapters  of  Zechariah  belong 
to  another  age. 

After  the  completion  of  the  new  Temple  the  curtain  falls  on  Judea 
and,  save  for  a  single  verse,  Ezra  4  :  6,  we  hear  no  more  of  it  for  fifty- 


44  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

seven  years.  However,  the  interesting  story  of  Esther  belongs  in  these 
years,  for  the  Ahasuerus  of  the  Bible  is  the  Xerxes  of  Greek  history — 
that  vain,  fickle,  and  voluptuous  monarch  who  was  beaten  at  Salamis 
and  Plataea.  The  Jews  must  have  been  a  part  of  the  vast  host  with 
which  he  crossed  from  Asia  to  Europe.  But  the  drama  unfolded  in  the 
book  of  Esther  was  played  far  from  Palestine,  at  Susa,  the  Persian 
capital. 

With  the  seventh  year  of  the  next  reign — that  of  Artaxerxes  I — the 
curtain  rises  again  on  Judea,  as  we  accompany  thither  the  little  band  of 
Jews  whom  Ezra,  the  priestly  "scribe,"  brought  back  with  him  from 
Babylonia  to  Jerusalem.  This  account  is  found  in  the  last  four  chapters 
of  the  book  of  Ezra,  most  of  it  in  the  form  of  personal  reminiscences 
covering  less  than  one  year. 

The  curtain  falls  again  abruptly  at  the  end  of  Ezra's  memoirs,  and 
rises  as  abruptly  on  Nehemiah's  memoirs  at  the  beginning  of  the  book 
which  bears  his  name.  But  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
letters  exchanged  between  the  Samaritans  and  the  Persian  court,  pre- 
served in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Ezra,  belong  to  this  interval  of  thirteen 
years  between  the  two  books  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  For  this  alone  can 
explain  two  riddles:  first,  who  are  "the  men  that  came  up  from  thee  unto 
Jerusalem,"  Ezra  4  :  12,  if  they  are  not  Ezra  and  his  company,  ch.  7? 
And  second,  what  else  could  explain  the  desolate  condition  of  Jerusalem 
and  Nehemiah's  emotion  on  learning  of  it,  Neh.  1  :  3,  if  not  the  mischief 
wrought  by  the  Jews'  enemies  when  "they  went  in  haste  to  Jerusalem," 
armed  with  a  royal  injunction,  and  "made  them  to  cease  by  force  and 
power"?    Ezra  4  :  23. 

Some  persons  are  inclined  to  date  the  prophet  Malachi  at  just  this 
time  also,  shortly  before  Nehemiah's  arrival.  But  it  is  probably  better 
to  place  the  ministry  of  this  last  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets  at  the 
end  of  Nehemiah's  administration.  Nehemiah's  points  of  contact  with 
Malachi  are  most  numerous  in  his  last  chapter,  ch.  13,  in  which  he  writes 
of  his  later  visit  to  Jerusalem.    Compare  Neh.  13  :  6  with  ch.  1:1. 

In  Cyrus'  reign  the  great  Return  was  followed  immediately  by  the 
erection  of  an  altar  and  the  resumption  of  sacrifice.  Preparations  for 
rebuilding  the  Temple,  however,  and  even  the  laying  of  the  corner 
stone,  proved  a  vain  beginning,  as  the  Samaritans,  jealous  of  the  new- 
comers and  angered  by  their  own  rebuff  as  fellow  worshipers  with  the 
Jews,  succeeded  in  hindering  the  prosecution  of  the  work  for  many 
years.     Ezra  3  :  1  to  4  :  5. 


OLD   TESTAMENT  TIMES  45 

It  was  not  until  the  second  j'ear  of  Darius'  reign,  520,  nearly  two 
decades  later,  that  the  little  community,  spurred  out  of  their  selfish- 
ness and  lethargy  by  Haggai  and  Zechariah,  arose  and  completed  the 
new  Temple,  in  the  face  of  local  opposition  but  with  royal  support. 
Ch.  4  :  24  to  6  :  15. 

Fifty-seven  years  later,  in  the  seventh  year  of  Artaxerxes,  458, 
came  Ezra  with  some  fifteen  hundred  men,  large  treasures,  and  sweep- 
ing privileges  confirmed  by  a  royal  edict,  the  text  of  which  he  has 
preserved  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  his  book.  He  was  given  the  king's 
support  in  introducing  the  Law  of  God  as  the  law  of  the  land,  binding 
upon  all  its  inhabitants,  whom  he  was  to  teach  its  contents  and  punish 
for  infractions  of  it.  How  Ezra  used  his  exceptional  powers  in  carrying 
out  the  reform  he  judged  most  needed — the  dissolution  of  mLxed  mar- 
riages between  Jew  and  Gentile  forbidden  by  the  Law — is  told  in  detail 
in  his  own  vivid  language  in  chs.  9,  10.  It  helps  us  to  understand 
Malachi's  zeal  in  this  same  matter.  Mai.  2  :  11.  And  the  difl&culty  of 
this  reform  appears  also  from  Nehemiah's  memoirs,  since  the  same 
abuse  persisted  twenty-five  years  after  Ezra  fought  it.    Neh.  13  :  23-27. 

After  the  failure  to  fortify  Jerusalem  recorded  in  Ezra  4  : 8-23, 
Nehemiah,  a  Jew  in  high  station  and  favor  at  Artaxerxes'  court,  ob- 
tained from  his  king  a  personal  letter,  appointing  him  governor  of 
Judea  for  a  limited  time,  with  the  special  commission  to  rebuild  the 
walls  and  gates  of  Jerusalem.  The  same  bitter  hostility  which  the 
Samaritans  and  other  neighbors  in  Palestine  throughout  had  shown 
toward  the  returned  Jews,  reached  its  climax  in  the  efforts  of  Sanballat 
and  others  in  public  and  private  station  to  hinder  Nehemiah's  purpose. 
But  with  great  energy  and  bravery,  and  with  a  personal  appeal  and 
example  that  swept  all  into  the  common  stream  of  patriotic  service, 
Nehemiah  built  the  ruined  walls  and  gates  in  fifty-two  days,  instituted 
social  reforms,  ch.  5,  and  imposed  a  covenant  on  all  the  people  to  obey 
the  Law  which  Ezra  read  and  expounded.  Chs.  8  to  10.  Elements  in 
the  little  nation  that  joined  with  his  enemies  to  discredit  and  even  to 
assassinate  him  were  banished  or  curbed.  The  origin  of  the  peculiar 
sect  of  the  Samaritan  is  connected  with  Nehemiah  through  his  rigor 
in  banishing  a  grandson  of  the  high  priest  who  had  married  Sanballat's 
daughter.  This  disloyalty  of  the  priesthood  is  also  one  of  Malachi's 
chief  indictments  against  his  nation,  and  the  basis  of  his  promise  that 
a  great  reformer,  an  "Elijah,"  should  arise  to  prepare  the  sinful  people 
for  the  coming  of  their  God. 


46  TEACHING   THE   TEACHEH 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XIII 

1.  How  long  after  the  Return  was  the  Temple  finished?    Who  hindered? 

Who  helped? 

2.  What  are  the  scene  and  the  date  of  the  book  of  Esther? 

3.  Compare  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  Jerusalem  under  Ezra  with  that 

under  Zerubbabel  (a)  in  date,  (6)  in  numbers,  (c)  in  purpose  and  result. 

4.  Tell  the  story  of  Nehemiah :  the  occasion  of  his  return,  his  enemies, 

his  achievements.     In  what  did  Ezra  help  him? 

5.  Associate  the  ministry  of  the  three  prophets  of  this  period  after  the 

Exile  with  the  leaders  and  movements  they  respectively  helped. 

LESSON  XIV 
Israel's  Religious  Life 

It  has  often  been  said  that  while  civilization  owes  its  art  and  letters 
to  Greece  and  its  law  and  order  to  Rome,  it  owes  its  religion  and  ethicS 
to  Palestine.  This  is  true,  within  limits,  provided  we  understand  that 
what  Israel  contributed  was  not  the  product  of  its  "native  genius  for 
religion,"  but  was  due  to  the  persistent  grace  of  its  God,  who  took  this 
"fewest  of  all  peoples"  and  made  of  it  the  custodian  of  his  revelation 
and  the  cradle  of  his  redemption  for  the  whole  world.  When,  however, 
the  Hebrew  claimed  preeminence  through  these  two  things,  a  saving 
God  and  a  righteous  Law,  it  was  no  idle  boast.  So  Moses  eloquently 
asks  in  Deuteronomy:  "What  great  nation  is  there,  that  hath  a  god 
so  nigh  unto  them,  as  Jehovah  our  God  is  whensoever  we  call  upon  him? 
And  what  great  nation  is  there,  that  hath  statutes  and  ordinances  so 
righteous  as  all  this  law,  which  I  set  before  you  this  day?"    Deut.  4  :  7,  8. 

Religion  as  developed  in  Israel  had  two  sides,  an  inward  and  an 
outward.  On  its  inward  side  it  consisted  of  a  faith  in  Jehovah  cherished 
in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  together  with  the  sentiments  of  reverence 
and  love,  and  the  purposes  of  loyalty  and  consecration,  which  grew  out 
of  that  faith.  On  its  outward  side  religion  consisted  of  certain  objects 
and  ceremonies,  adapted  to  express  by  act  and  symbol  the  relation  be- 
tween God  and  his  people. 

But  there  is  also  another  distinction  often  made  in  speaking  of  re- 
ligion, the  distinction  between  individual  religion  and  national  religion. 
Each  member  of  the  Hebrew  nation  held  a  personal  relation  to  his  God. 
The  Law  of  God  addressed  him  individually  as  it  said  to  him,  "Thou 


OLD   TESTAMENT  TIMES  47 

shalt  not."  And,  on  a  still  higher  level,  Moses  summed  up  that  Law  for 
him  in  these  memorable  words,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart."  Yet  the  entire  body  of  Israel,  as  such,  held  a  relation  to 
God  which  his  spokesmen  are  continually  trying  to  illustrate  and  en- 
rich by  all  sorts  of  figures.  God  is  Israel's  "Rock,"  "Possessor"  or 
"Purchaser,"  "Redeemer,"  "Father" — until  Isaiah  can  even  say  to  the 
nation,  "Thy  Maker  is  thy  husband,"  and  Hosea  and  Ezekiel  can  por- 
tray God's  dealings  with  Israel  under  the  allegory  of  a  marriage. 

It  would  be  a  mistake,  however,  to  suppose  that  all  the  inward  re- 
ligion was  individual  and  all  the  outward  religion  national.  There  was 
provision  in  the  ceremonial  law,  not  only  for  sacrifices  on  a  national 
scale,  like  those  of  the  day  of  atonement,  but  also  for  each  man  to  ex- 
press outwardly  his  own  penitence  or  devotion  or  gratitude  or  obliga- 
tion to  God  by  means  of  a  personal  sacrifice,  publicly  offered  but  pri- 
vately planned  and  provided.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  psalms  and 
the  prophets  cannot  be  understood,  unless  we  realize  the  general  re- 
ligious life  of  the  nation  that  lies  back  of  these  highly  individual  forms 
of  expression.  That  was  why,  when  David  thinking  of  himself  could 
write,  "The  Lord  is  my  shepherd,"  the  whole  people  could  take  that 
sentence  and  the  psalm  it  begins  for  use  in  public  worship  as  the  col- 
lective expression  of  Israel's  trust  in  its  God. 

The  great  fact  of  sin  is  responsible  for  the  perversion  of  the  true 
relation  between  these  different  varieties  of  religious  life.  In  theorj', 
every  symbolic  object  and  action  at  tabernacle  or  Temple  was  merely 
the  outward  expression  of  an  inward  idea  or  feeling  or  resolve.  Every 
smoking  sacrifice  on  the  altar  was  supposed  to  come  from  an  offerer 
drawing  near  to  God  in  the  sincere  belief  "that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a 
rewarder  of  them  that  seek  after  him."  Heb.  11  :  6.  But  in  fact  the 
offerer  was  in  constant  danger  of  looking  upon  all  the  gifts  and  victims 
he  brought  as  so  many  bribes  with  which  he  might  buy  the  favor  of  an 
offended  God,  or,  worse  still,  might  obtain  an  "indulgence"  to  do  some 
evil  deed  he  planned.  This  is  what  Jeremiah  means  when  he  cries, 
"Will  ye  steal,  murder,  and  commit  adultery,  and  swear  falsely  .  .  . 
and  come  and  stand  before  me  in  this  house,  which  is  called  by  my 
name,  and  say,  We  are  delivered;  that  ye  may  do  all  these  abomina- 
tions?"    Jer.  7  :  9,  10. 

If  the  private  worshiper  was  in  danger  of  abusing  the  worship  of 
God  in  this  way,  how  much  more  was  the  priest,  the  professional  sac- 
rificer  and  celebrant,  in  danger  of  looking  upon  all  his  duties  as  a  kind 


48  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

of  authorized  magic!  "Do  this  external  act,  and  that  inward  benefit 
will  surely  follow."  "Offer  this  lamb,  and  cease  to  think  about  that 
black  sin  for  which  the  lamb  is  the  official  price."  Yes,  even  this: 
"Go  and  do  it  again,  but  don't  forget  to  bring  another  lamb!"  Is  it 
any  wonder  that  at  length  Malachi,  after  lashing  the  priests  of  his  late 
day  for  their  laziness,  cynicism,  and  greed,  cries  out  in  Jehovah's  name, 
"Oh  that  there  were  one  among  you  that  would  shut  the  doors  [of  the 
Temple],  that  ye  might  not  kindle  fire  on  mine  altar  in  vain!"  Mai.  1  :  10. 

All  along  the  course  of  Hebrew  history  we  find  prophets  and  psalm- 
ists protesting  against  this  sinful  perversion  of  ceremonial  religion. 
See  for  example  I  Sam.  15  :  22;  Ps.  40  : 6-8;  50;  Isa.  1  :  10-17;  Micah 
6  :  6-8. 

And  yet  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  say  that  the  prophet  stood  for 
pure  and  spiritual  religion,  and  the  priest  for  merely  external,  formal 
religion.  Some  of  the  greatest  of  the  prophets,  as  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel, 
Zechariah,  were  priests.  And  how  far  the  prophets  could  become  pro- 
fessional declaimers  and  deceivers  may  be  seen,  for  example,  from 
Micah  3  :  5-8. 

The  Hebrew  prophets,  notably  Amos  and  Hosea,  are  sometimes 
represented  as  the  "inventors"  of  "ethical  monotheism,"  that  is,  of 
religion  as  consisting  in  the  worship  of  one  God,  who  is  the  moral  ideal 
of  man  and  demands  moral  living  in  man.  But  in  fact,  that  is  precisely 
the  basis  of  all  genuine  Old  Testament  religion,  from  the  very  begin- 
ning. See  Heb.,  ch.  11.  And,  particularly,  that  is  the  basis  of  the  entire 
Law,  even  of  the  ceremonial  law.  For  that  Law  must  not  be  judged  by 
its  sinful  abuse,  but  by  the  principles  of  righteousness,  holiness,  re- 
pentance, and  fellowship  that  underlie  every  article  in  the  sanctuary, 
every  sacrifice  on  the  altar,  every  rite  prescribed  and  observance  com- 
manded. At  their  best  the  priests  were  allies  of  the  true  prophets,  and 
external  religion  as  centering  in  the  Temple  was  for  the  time  a  fitting 
expression  of  Israel's  personal  and  national  faith.  If  it  had  not  been 
so,  then  such  psalms  as  Psalms  24,  42,  65,  84,  122  could  never  have 
been  written,  preserved,  and  used. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XIV 

1.  What  ground  had  Israel  for  "glorying"?    See  Rom.  9  :  4,  5. 

2.  Give  illustrations  to  show  that  individual  as  well  as  national  re- 

ligion in  Israel  expressed  itself  externally,  and  that  spiritual  as 


OLD   TESTAMENT  TIMES  49 

well  as  ceremonial  religion  belonged  to  both  the  nation  and  the 
individual. 

3.  What  sinful  abuse  of  sacrifice  were  the  prophets  constantly  attack- 

ing?    Did  they  thereby  condemn  Temple,  altar,  priesthood,  and 
ceremonial  law  in  themselves? 

4.  Were  all  the  prophets  spiritually  minded,  or  all  the  priests  merely 

''professional"?    Give  instances  from  history  of  alliances  between 
prophets  and  priests. 

LESSON  XV 
"The  Coming  One" 

The  Old  Testament  points  forward.  The  whole  impression  it  leaves 
upon  us  is  that  of  an  unfinished  thing.  Its  history  moves  toward  a 
goal  outside  of  itself.  Its  religion  is  a  religion  of  expectation.  All  its 
institutions  are  typical,  that  is,  they  represent  more  than  themselves, 
because  they  belong  to  a  larger  order  of  things  which  appears  imper- 
fectly in  them. 

In  the  last  lesson  we  saw  how  priest  and  prophet  had  their  own 
place  in  Israel.  But  both  priest  and  prophet  also  typified  a  perfect 
priesthood  and  a  perfect  prophecy,  to  be  realized  under  ideal  conditions 
which  were  never  present  in  those  times.  When,  for  example,  Aaron 
made  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the  nation  once  each  year,  as  provided 
in  Lev.,  ch,  16,  he  had  to  present  first  the  blood  of  the  bullock  which 
was  the  sin  offering  for  himself,  before  he  presented  the  blood  of  the 
goat  which  was  the  sin  offering  for  the  people.  But  ideally,  in  his  posi- 
tion as  mediator  between  God  and  the  sinful  people,  he  was  a  sinless 
man;  the  blood  of  the  bullock  and  the  pure,  white  garments  he  put  on 
were  supposed  to  indicate  that  he  was  sinless  for  the  moment.  Noth- 
ing could  be  clearer  than  that  he  typified  a  perfect  high  priest  for  God's 
people,  who  should  be  really  a  sinless  man — one  who  needed  no  mechan- 
ism of  altar,  victim,  and  dress  to  make  him  pure  from  personal  sin. 
See  Heb.,  chs.  5  to  10,  especially  ch.  7  :  26-28. 

Again  Moses  looks  forward  to  the  realization  in  the  future  of  the 
ideal  communication  between  God  and  his  people  typified  in  the 
prophet.  "A  prophet,"  says  he,  "Jehovah  thy  God  will  raise  up  unto 
thee."  "From  the  midst  of  thee,  like  unto  me."  Deut.  18  :  15-19. 
This  ideal  prophet  will  perfecftly  hear  and  perfectly  transmit  divine 


50  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

truth  to  men.  It  was  on  the  basis  of  this  promise  that  many  persons 
described  our  Lord  as  ''the  prophet,"  meaning  thereby  that  perfect 
prophet  promised  by  Moses.    John  1  :  21,  25;  7  :  40. 

But  there  was  another  institution  of  Old  Testament  times  which 
more  than  prophet  or  priest  was  associated  in  the  people's  minds  with 
the  ideal  future.  This  was  kingship.  God  himself  was  theoretically 
King — sole  King — of  Israel.  Isa.  33  :  22.  But  at  the  entreaty  of  his 
sinful  and  harassed  people  he  instructed  Samuel  to  "make  them  a 
king."  And  while  Samuel  warned  them  of  the  evils  which  the  monarchy 
would  bring  with  it  because  of  the  sinfulness  of  the  men  who  should 
be  king,  he  nevertheless  set  up  a  throne  that  by  its  very  nature  was 
unique.  The  king  of  Israel  was  in  a  peculiar  sense  the  representative  of 
Jehovah.  He  ruled  for  God.  He  was  his  own  "anointed,"  set  apart 
for  the  exercise  of  supreme  authority  over  God's  people  on  earth  and 
entitled  to  their  religious  as  well  as  patriotic  devotion.  See,  for  ex- 
ample. Psalms  21,  101. 

After  the  failure  of  Saul  to  obey  God's  instructions,  Samuel  anointed, 
at  God's  dictation  and  against  his  own  human  judgment,  David  the 
son  of  Jesse.  This  man  proved  himself,  not  indeed  sinless  nor  the  ideal 
king,  but  a  man  after  God's  heart.  Acts  13  :  22,  because  his  dominant 
purpose  was  to  do  God's  will.  To  David  therefore  was  given  the  re- 
markable promise  contained  in  II  Sam.,  ch.  7.  In  a  word,  this  promise 
was  an  irrevocable,  eternal  "covenant,"  granting  sovereignty  to  David's 
"house" — that  is,  his  posterity  considered  as  a  unit — over  God's 
Kingdom  on  earth. 

The  story  of  how  men  came  to  understand  better  and  better  the 
vastness  of  this  covenant,  which  Isaiah  calls  "the  sure  mercies  of 
David,"  ch.  55  :  3,  forms  the  subject  of  that  special  Old  Testament 
study  called  ' '  Messianic  Prophecy . "  In  the  psalms  and  in  the  prophecies 
we  are  able  to  trace  a  growing  faith,  that  by  an  ideal  king  of  David's 
line  Jehovah  will  finally  work  his  long  delayed  will  in  and  through 
Israel.  This  Person  is  commonly  called  "the  Messiah,"  because 
"Messiah"  means  "Anointed."  Its  Greek  equivalent  is  "the  Christ." 
While  other  persons  also  were  anointed  with  oil  when  they  assumed 
office,  kings  were  always  so  anointed  and  the  idea  belongs  peculiarly 
to  kingship.  By  the  time  our  Lord  appeared,  no  other  side  of  the 
work  which  this  ideal,  promised,  longed-for  Coming  One  was  to  do, 
was  so  prominent  as  that  of  ruling  for  God  as  the  King  of  Israel.  For 
this  reason  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  known  to  all  who  believe  in  his  claims 


OLD   TESTAMENT   TIMES  51 

as  "the  Christ,"  and  such  believers  are  thence  called  "Christians." 
This  title  of  Christ  connects  Jesus  with  the  line  of  David,  to  which  he 
actually  belonged  by  descent,  and  it  also  connects  him  with  the  promise 
to  David,  of  which  he  was  the  heir  and  the  fulfillment. 

We  have  thus  seen  that  "the  Coming  One,"  Luke  7  :  19;  John  11  :  27, 
toward  whom  the  eyes  of  Israel  were  directed,  was  to  be  prophet,  priest, 
and  king.  In  all  these  offices  and  the  various  duties  they  involved  he 
was  to  be  the  one  chosen  from  among  the  people — a  man  therefore, 
"servant  of  the  servants  of  God."  Yet  this  is  not  all.  Alongside  these 
promises  there  was  a  promise  also  that  Jehovah  himself  would  come  to 
dwell  among  his  people.  The  Holy  of  Holies,  with  its  Ark  of  the  Pres- 
ence and  its  Mercy  seat  for  revelation  and  atonement,  was  itself  typical 
of  an  ideal  presence  of  God  among  men.  And  through  psalm  and 
prophet  we  can  trace  this  promise  also.  Now  it  is  terrible  with  its 
threat  to  sinners,  and  now  it  is  glorious  with  its  hope  for  the  oppressed. 
At  length  in  Malachi  we  read  in  the  clearest  words,  "The  Lord,  whom 
ye  seek,  will  suddenly  come  to  his  temple."  Mai.  3  :  1,  5.  Preceded 
by  his  "messenger"  to  "prepare  the  way  before  him,"  Israel's  divine 
Lord  himself  is  to  come  for  judgment  and  salvation.  See  also  Ps. 
96  :  13;  98  :  9. 

It  was  not  made  so  plain  to  the  men  of  ancient  Israel  just  how  these 
two  lines  of  promise  were  to  be  united,  as  it  appears  to  us  now  in  the 
light  of  later  facts.  But  we,  who  worship  Jesus  of  Nazareth  not  only 
as  "Son  of  David  according  to  the  flesh,"  but  as  divine  Lord  from 
heaven,  "in  two  distinct  natures  and  one  person  for  ever,"  can  look 
back  on  those  old  prophecies  of  "men  who  spake  from  God,  being  moved 
by  the  Holy  Spirit."  II  Peter  1:21.  We  can  see  in  them  God's  purpose 
to  make  this  great  Son  of  David  a  true  "Immanuel,"  Isa.  7  :  14 — a 
Person  in  whom  God  actually  is  "%vith  us."  God  gave  to  him  such 
names  as  "Wonderful,  Counsellor,  Mighty  God,  Everlasting  Father, 
Prince  of  Peace,"  because  he  should  really  be  all  that  these  names 
imply.  Isa.  9  :  6.  For  the  Child  who  was  born  in  little  Bethlehem,  the 
"city  of  David,"  was  not  merely  one  who  should  be  "ruler  in  Israel," 
but  also  one  "whose  goings  forth  are  from  of  old,  from  everlasting." 
Micah  5:2. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XV 

1.  How  did  the  priests  and  prophets  in  Israel  point  forward  to  an 
ideal  Priest  and  Prophet? 


52  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

2.  What  was  the  relation  of  Israel's  king  to  Jehovah?   In  whose  "house" 

was  this  office  made  eternal?  In  what  Person  has  this  promise 
been  fulfilled? 

3.  How  was  the  promise  that  God  himself  should  be  "the  Coming 

One"  consistent  with  the  promise  of  a  human  Prophet,  Priest,  and 
King?  Where  is  it  indicated  in  the  Old  Testament  that  both 
promises  might  be  fulfilled  in  one  Person? 


SECTION  II 

The  Life  of  Christ  and  the  Development  of 
the  Church  in  New  Testament  Times 

By  John  Gresham  Machen,  D.D. 


LESSON  I 
The  Preparation 

At  the  time  when  the  Old  Testament  narrative  closes,  the  Jews  were 
under  the  rule  of  Persia.  The  Persian  control  continued  for  about  one 
hundred  years  more,  and  then  gave  way  to  the  empire  of  Alexander  the 
Great.  Alexander  was  king  of  Macedonia,  a  country  to  the  north  of 
Greece;  but  the  language  and  culture  of  his  court  were  Greek.  After 
Greece  proper  had  been  conquered  by  Alexander's  father,  Philip, 
Alexander  himself  proceeded  to  the  conquest  of  the  East.  The  Persian 
Empire  fell  in  331  b.c,  and  with  the  other  Persian  possessions  Jeru- 
salem came  into  the  hands  of  the  conqueror.  In  323  b.c,  when  Alex- 
ander died,  his  vast  empire,  which  extended  around  the  eastern  end 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  and  to  the  borders  of  India,  at  once  fell  to 
pieces.  But  the  kingdoms  into  which  the  empire  was  divided  were  to 
a  large  extent  Greek  kingdoms.  Short-lived,  therefore,  as  Alexander's 
empire  was,  it  had  the  permanent  efifect  of  spreading  the  Greek  lan- 
guage and  Greek  civilization  over  the  Eastern  world.  It  became  thus, 
as  will  be  seen,  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  divine  prepara- 
tion for  the  gospel. 

After  the  death  of  Alexander,  the  country  of  Judea  became  a  bone 
of  contention  between  two  of  the  kingdoms  into  which  Alexander's  empire 
was  divided — the  Greek  kingdom  of  Syria  and  the  Greek  kingdom  of 
Egypt.  At  last,  however,  the  Syrian  kingdom,  with  its  capital  at  Antioch, 
near  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  gained  the 
upper  hand.    Judea  became  part  of  the  territory  of  the  Syrian  monarchs. 

In  the  reign  of  Antiochus  IV  of  Syria,  called  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
175-164  B.C.,  the  Jews  began  a  war  for  independence.  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  had  desecrated  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  by  setting  up  an 
image  of  a  heathen  god  in  the  Holy  of  Holies.  The  result  was  the  glori- 
ous revolt  of  the  Jews  under  Mattathias  and  his  sons — the  family  of  the 
Maccabees.  The  Maccabean  uprising,  of  which  a  stirring  account  has 
been  preserved  in  the  First  Book  of  the  Maccabees,  an  apocryphal 
book  attached  to  the  Old  Testament,  certainly  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  glorious  chapters  in  the  history  of  liberty.  The  uprising  was 
successful,  and  for  about  one  hundred  years  the  little  country  of  the 

55 


56  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

Jews,  though  surrounded  by  powerful  neighbors,  succeeded  in  main- 
taining its  independence. 

At  first  the  Maccabees  had  been  animated  by  a  rehgious  motive;  the 
revolt  had  been  due  not  to  an  interference  with  what  may  be  called 
civil  liberty,  but  to  the  desecration  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes  of  the 
Temple  and  to  the  attempt  at  prohibiting  the  worship  of  Jehovah. 
As  time  went  on,  however,  the  Maccabean  rulers  became  more  worldly 
in  their  purposes  and  thus  alienated  the  devout  element  among  their 
people.  Hence  the  little  kingdom  became  an  easy  prey  to  the  next 
great  world  empire  which  appeared  upon  the  scene. 

That  empire  was  the  empire  of  Rome.  Originally  a  small  city-state 
in  Italy,  Rome  had  gradually  extended  her  conquests  until  she  came  into 
conflict  with  Greece  and  with  the  Greek  kingdoms  of  the  Eastern  world. 
Weakened  by  many  causes,  the  successors  of  Alexander  soon  suc- 
cumbed, and  among  them  the  monarchs  of  Syria.  Judea  could  not 
resist  the  new  conqueror.  In  63  b.c,  the  famous  Roman  general, 
Pompey,  entered  Jerusalem,  and  Jewish  independence  was  at  an  end. 

The  Roman  control  was  exerted  in  Palestine  for  a  time  through  sub- 
servient high  priests,  until  in  37  B.C.  Herod  the  Great  was  made 
king.  Herod  was  not  a  real  Jew,  but  an  Idumaean;  and  at  heart  he  had 
little  or  no  attachment  to  the  Jews'  religion.  But  he  was  wise  enough 
not  to  offend  Jewish  feeling  in  the  outrageous  way  that  had  proved  so 
disastrous  to  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  Throughout  his  reign  Herod  was 
of  course  thoroughly  subservient  to  the  Romans;  though  a  king,  he 
was  strictly  a  vassal  king.  Herod  reigned  from  37  b.c.  to  4  b.c.  His 
kingdom  embraced  not  only  Judea,  but  all  Palestine.  It  was  near  the 
end  of  Herod's  reign  that  our  Saviour  was  born.  Thus  the  reckoning 
of  the  Christian  era,  which  was  instituted  many  centuries  after  Christ, 
is  at  least  four  years  too  low;  Jesus  was  born  a  little  earlier  than  4  b.c. 

When  Pompey  conquered  Jerusalem  in  63  b.c,  Rome  was  still  a 
republic.  But  before  many  years  had  elapsed  Julius  Caesar  assumed 
the  supreme  power,  and  the  ancient  Roman  liberties  were  gone.  After 
the  assassination  of  Caesar  in  44  b.c,  there  was  a  long  period  of  civil 
war.  Finally  Augustus  was  triumphant,  and  the  Roman  Empire  began. 
In  the  long  reign  of  Augustus,  27  b.c  to  a.d.  14,  our  Saviour  was  born. 

The  political  events  which  have  just  been  outlined  did  not  take  place 
by  chance.  They  were  all  parts  of  the  plan  of  God  which  prepared  for 
the  coming  of  the  Lord.  When  Jesus  finally  came,  the  world  was  pre- 
pared for  his  coming. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  57 

In  the  first  place,  the  Roman  Empire  provided  that  peace  and  unity 
which  was  needed  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  War  interrupts  com- 
munication between  nations.  But  when  the  apostles  went  forth  from 
Jerusalem  to  spread  the  good  news  of  Christ  to  the  world,  there  was  no 
war  to  interrupt  their  course.  Nation  was  bound  to  nation  under  the 
strong  hand  of  Rome.  Travel  was  comparatively  safe  and  easy,  and 
despite  occasional  persecution  the  earliest  missionaries  usually  enjoyed 
the  protection  of  Roman  law. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Greek  language  provided  a  medium  of  com- 
munication. When  the  Romans  conquered  the  Eastern  world,  they 
did  not  endeavor  to  substitute  their  own  language  for  the  language 
which  already  prevailed.  Such  an  attempt  would  only  have  produced 
confusion.  Indeed,  the  Romans  themselves  adopted  the  Greek  language 
as  a  convenient  medium  of  communication.  Greek  thus  became  a 
world  language.  The  original,  local  languages  of  the  various  countries 
continued  to  be  used  (Aramaic,  for  example,  was  used  in  Palestine), 
but  Greek  was  a  common  medium.  Thus  when  the  apostles  went  forth 
to  the  evangelization  of  the  w^orld,  there  were  no  barriers  of  language  to 
check  their  course. 

In  the  third  place,  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  provided  the  early 
missionaries  everyw^here  with  a  starting  point  for  their  labors.  As  a 
result  not  only  of  captivity,  but  also  of  voluntary  emigration,  the  Jews 
in  the  first  century  were  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  cities  of 
the  w^orld  very  much  as  they  are  scattered  to-day.  But  there  was  one 
important  difference.  To-day  the  Jewish  synagogues  are  attended 
only  by  Jews.  In  those  days  they  were  attended  also  by  men  of  other 
races.  Thus  when  Paul  and  the  other  Christian  missionaries  exercised 
their  privilege  of  speaking  in  the  synagogues,  they  were  speaking  not 
only  to  Jews  but  also  to  a  picked  audience  of  Gentiles. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  I 

1.  Name  in  order  the  foreign  powers  which  possessed  the  country  of 

the  Jews,  beginning  with  Old  Testament  times  and  continuing 
down  to  the  present  day. 

2.  W^hat  was  the  importance  of  the  Maccabean  uprising  in  the  prepara- 

tion for  the  coming  of  the  Lord?    What  would  have  happened  if 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  had  been  successful? 

3.  What  was  the  importance  of  the  Roman  Empire  for  the  spread  of 

the  gospel?  of  the  Greek  language?  of  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews? 


58  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 


LESSON  II 
The  Coming  of  the  Lord 

John  1:  1-18 

When  the  Son  of  God  came  to  earth  for  our  salvation,  the  world  was 
ready  for  his  coming.  The  whole  course  of  history  had  been  made  to 
lead  up  to  him.  And  he  was  well  worthy  of  being  thus  the  goal  of 
history.  For  the  One  who  came  was  none  other  than  the  eternal  Son  of 
God,  the  Word  who  was  with  God  and  who  was  God.  He  had  existed 
from  all  eternity;  he  had  been  the  instrument  in  creating  the  world. 
He  was  himself  truly  God,  the  same  in  substance  with  the  Father,  and 
equal  in  power  and  glory.  Yet  the  One  who  was  so  great  humbled  him- 
self to  be  born  as  a  man  and  finally  to  suffer  and  die.  His  coming  was 
a  voluntary  act,  an  act  of  the  Father  in  giving  him  for  the  sins  of  the 
world,  and  his  own  act  which  he  performed  because  he  loved  us.  It 
was  an  act  of  infinite  condescension.  The  Son  of  God  humbled  himself 
to  lead  a  true  human  life;  he  took  upon  himself  our  nature.  He  was 
born,  he  grew  in  wisdom  and  stature,  he  suffered,  he  died.  He  was 
always  God,  but  he  became  also  man.  Who  can  measure  the  depth  of 
such  condescending  love? 

What,  then,  was  the  manner  of  his  coming?  The  story  is  told,  in 
beautiful  narrative,  in  the  first  two  chapters  of  Matthew  and  Luke. 

Luke  1 :  5-25,  57-80 

First,  the  birth  of  John  the  Baptist,  the  forerunner,  was  announced 
by  the  angel  Gabriel  to  Zacharias,  a  devout  priest,  as  he  was  ministering 
in  the  Temple.  Luke  1  :  5-25.  Zacharias  was  old;  he  had  given  up 
hope  of  children.  The  promise  seemed  to  him  too  wonderful  to  be  true; 
he  doubted  the  angel's  word.  But  the  punishment  which  was  inflicted 
upon  him  for  his  doubt  was  temporary  merely,  and  the  bitterness  of  it 
was  swallowed  up  in  joy  for  the  child  that  was  born.  The  tongue  of 
Zacharias,  which  had  been  dumb  on  account  of  his  sin,  was  loosed,  and 
he  uttered  a  wonderful  song  of  praise.     Vs.  57-80. 

Luke  1:26-56 

But  before  John  was  born,  in  fulfillment  of  the  angel's  promise, 
there  was  a  promise  of  a  greater  than  John.    Luke  1  :  26-56.     "The 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  59 

angel  Gabriel  was  sent  from  God  unto  a  city  of  Galilee,  named  Nazareth, 
to  a  virgin  betrothed  to  a  man  whose  name  was  Joseph,  of  the  house 
of  David;  and  the  virgin's  name  was  Mary."  It  was  a  far  more  won- 
derful promise  than  that  which  had  come  to  Zacharias,  not  only  be- 
cause of  the  greater  glory  of  the  promised  Son,  but  also  because  of  the 
mystery  of  his  birth.  The  child  was  to  have  no  human  father,  but  was 
to  be  given  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  this  time,  despite 
the  strangeness  of  the  promise,  there  was  no  unbelief,  as  in  the  case  of 
Zacharias.  "Behold,  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord,"  said  Mary;  "be  it 
unto  me  according  to  thy  word."  And  then  Mary  went  to  Judea  to  visit 
her  kinswoman  Elisabeth,  the  wife  of  Zacharias;  and  while  in  Judea  she 
gave  glorious  expression  to  her  thanksgiving  in  the  hymn  which  is  called, 
from  the  first  word  of  it  in  the  Latin  translation,  the  "Magnificat" — 
"My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God 
my  Saviour."    Then  Mary  returned  to  her  own  home  in  Nazareth. 

Matthew  1:18-25 

But  another  announcement  of  the  Saviour's  birth  was  made  to 
Joseph,  who  was  betrothed  to  Mary.  Matt.  1  :  18-25.  Joseph  was  to 
have  the  high  privilege  of  caring  for  the  child  that  was  to  be  born. 
"Fear  not  to  take  unto  thee  Mary  thy  wife,"  said  the  angel  to  Joseph 
in  a  dream,  "for  that  which  is  conceived  in  her  is  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 
And  here  again,  there  was  no  unbelief  and  no  disobedience.  Joseph 
"did  as  the  angel  of  the  Lord  commanded  him,  and  took  unto  him  his 
wife." 

Luke  2: 1-7 

Joseph  and  Mary  lived  in  Nazareth,  a  town  of  the  northern  part  of 
Palestine,  which  was  called  Galilee.  But  the  promised  Child  was  to 
belong  to  the  house  of  David,  and  it  was  fitting  that  he  should  be  born 
at  Bethlehem,  a  Httle  to\NTi  five  miles  south  of  Jerusalem  where  David 
himself  had  been  bom.  To  cause  him  to  be  born  at  Bethlehem,  God 
made  use  of  an  event  of  world  politics.  Luke  2  :  1-7.  A  decree  had 
gone  out  from  the  emperor,  Augustus,  that  the  whole  empire  should 
be  enrolled.  This  enrollment  or  census  seems  to  have  been  carried  out 
in  the  kingdom  of  Herod  the  Great  by  the  Jewish  method  which  took 
account  of  family  relationships.  So,  although  at  the  time  Joseph  and 
Mary  were  living  at  Nazareth,  they  went  up  to  the  home  of  Joseph's 
ancestors,  to  Bethlehem,  to  be  enrolled.    And  at  Bethlehem  the  Saviour 


60  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

was  born.     There  was  no  room  in  the  lodging  place.     The  Child  was 
laid,  therefore,  in  a  manger  that  was  intended  for  the  feeding  of  cattle. 

Luke  2:8-20 

But  humble  as  were  the  surroundings  of  the  newborn  King,  his 
birth  was  not  without  manifestations  of  glory.  Luke  2  : 8-20.  Shep- 
herds, keeping  watch  in  the  fields  by  night,  heard  a  multitude  of  the 
heavenly  host  praising  God  and  saying,  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest, 
and  on  earth  peace  among  men  in  whom  he  is  well  pleased."  The 
shepherds  went  then  to  see  the  sign  which  had  been  made  knoAvn  to 
them.  It  was  a  strange  sign  indeed — Christ  the  Lord,  the  promised 
King,  wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes  and  lying  in  a  manger! 

Luke  2:21-38;  Matthew  2:  1-12 

Forty  days  after  the  birth  of  Jesus,  Joseph  and  Mary  made  the 
offering  according  to  the  Old  Testament  law,  and  presented  the  Child, 
as  the  first-born,  to  the  Lord  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  Luke  2:21- 
38.  Then  they  must  have  returned  to  Bethlehem,  for  it  was  at  Beth- 
lehem that  gifts  were  presented  by  Wise  Men  from  the  East.  Matt. 
2  :  1-12.  The  Wise  Men  had  been  guided  to  Bethlehem  partly  by  a 
wonderful  star  which  they  had  first  seen  in  their  own  country,  and  partly 
by  questions  which  were  answered  by  the  scribes. 

Matthew  2:  13-23 

But  the  life  of  the  infant  Saviour  was  not  all  to  be  a  hearing  of  angels' 
songs  and  a  reception  of  gold  and  frankincense  and  myrrh.  The  Lord 
had  come  to  suffer  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  the  last  great  suffering 
on  the  cross  was  anticipated  by  the  persecution  which  came  in  the 
early  days.  Matt.  2  :  13-18.  The  suspicions  of  Herod,  the  jealous 
king,  had  been  aroused  by  the  questions  of  the  Wise  Men.  He  sent  to 
Bethlehem  to  put  a  possible  rival  out  of  the  way.  But  it  was  too  late. 
The  king's  rage  was  vented  upon  the  innocent  children  of  the  little  town, 
but  God  had  cared  for  the  infant  Saviour.  The  Lord  was  finally  to  die 
for  the  sins  of  the  world.  But  meanwhile  many  words  of  wisdom  and 
grace  were  to  fall  from  his  lips;  his  hour  was  not  yet  come.  Joseph 
was  warned  of  God  in  a  dream,  and  took  the  young  Child  and  his 
mother  away  to  Egypt,  out  of  the  way  of  harm,  until  Herod  the  Great 
was  dead.  Then  they  returned  to  Nazareth,  where  the  Child  was  to 
spend  long,  quiet  years  of  preparation  for  his  work. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  61 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  II 

1.  What  life  had  our  Saviour  Hved  before  he  came  to  earth?    Did  he 

cease  to  be  God  while  he  was  on  earth? 

2.  Why  did  he  come? 

3.  Who  was  his  forerunner?    What  sort  of  persons  were  the  parents  of 

the  forerunner? 

4.  How  did  Jesus  come  to  be  born  at  Bethlehem? 

5.  What  was  the  character  of  his  mother? 

LESSON  III 
The  Baptism 

Luke  2:40-50 

The  New  Testament  tells  very  little  about  the  boyhood  and  early 
manhood  of  our  Saviour.  One  incident,  however,  is  narrated.  Luke 
2  :  41-50.  Joseph  and  Mary,  we  are  told,  were  in  the  habit  of  going 
up  from  Galilee  to  Jerusalem  every  year  in  the  spring  at  the  feast  of 
the  passover.  When  Jesus  was  twelve  years  old,  he  went  up  with 
them.  But  when  they  left  Jerusalem  on  the  return,  Jesus  remained 
behind  in  the  Temple,  to  study  the  Old  Testament;  and  when  Joseph 
and  Mary  found  him,  he  replied  to  their  inquiries,  "Knew  ye  not  that  I 
must  be  about  my  Father's  business?"  The  incident  shows  the  presence 
even  in  the  human  consciousness  of  the  boy  Jesus  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
great  mission  that  he  was  called  to  fulfill  and  of  his  special  relation 
to  God. 

Luke  2:51,  52 

But  the  consciousness  of  these  great  things  did  not  prevent  our 
Saviour  from  performing  the  humble  tasks  of  daily  life  and  from  being 
obedient  to  his  human  parents.  Luke  2  :  51,  52.  Jesus  became  a  car- 
penter, and  since  Joseph  also  was  a  carpenter,  no  doubt  Jesus  learned 
the  trade  in  early  youth.  Mark  6:3;  Matt.  13  :  55.  For  many  years, 
till  he  was  about  thirty  years  old,  the  Saviour  of  the  world  labored  at 
the  carpenter's  bench,  and  lived  as  an  obedient  son  in  a  humble  home 
at  Nazareth.     Luke  3  :  23. 

At  last,  however,  the  time  came  for  the  beginning  of  his  public 
ministry.  Before  that  ministry  is  studied,  it  may  be  well  to  cast  a 
glance  at  the  condition  of  the  country  into  which  Jesus  now  came 
forward. 


G2  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

When  Herod  the  Great  died  in  4  b.c,  his  dominions  were  divided 
among  his  three  sons.  Archelaus  received  Judea,  the  southern  part 
of  Palestine,  with  Jerusalem  as  its  chief  city;  Herod  Antipas,  the 
"Herod"  who  is  mentioned  in  the  Gospels  in  connection  with  Jesus' 
public  ministry,  received  Galilee  and  a  district  to  the  east  of  the  Jordan 
River  called  Perea;  and  Philip  received  a  region  lying  to  the  east  of 
Galilee  and  to  the  north  of  Perea.  When  Archelaus  was  banished  in 
A.D.  6,  his  territory  was  placed  under  the  control  of  Roman  officials 
called  procurators.  The  procurator  who  was  in  office  during  Jesus' 
public  ministry  was  Pontius  Pilate.  Herod  Antipas,  with  the  title  of 
"tetrarch,"  continued  to  rule  until  a.d.  39;  Philip  until  about  a.d.  33. 
The  public  ministry  of  Jesus  extended  from  a.d.  26  or  27  to  a.d.  29  or 
30.  During  most  of  that  time  he  was  in  the  territory  of  Herod  Antipas 
and  of  Pontius  Pilate,  though  occasionally  he  entered  the  territory  of 
Philip. 

Matthew  3: 1-12,  and  Parallels 

The  beginning  of  Jesus'  public  ministry  was  prepared  for  by  the  work 
of  John  the  Baptist.  Matt.  3  :  1-12,  and  parallels.  John  was  the  last 
and  greatest  prophet  of  the  old  dispensation,  who  came  just  before  the 
dawn  of  the  new  age.  For  centuries  prophecy  had  been  silent.  But 
at  last  a  prophet  came  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elijah  to  prepare  the 
heart  of  the  people  for  the  promised  Messiah. 

Even  in  dress  and  in  manner  of  life,  John  was  like  a  prophet  of  the 
olden  time.  His  food  was  locusts  and  wild  honey;  he  was  clothed  with 
a  rough  camel's-hair  garment;  and  his  preaching  was  carried  on  in  the 
deserts.  The  substance  of  his  message  is  summed  up  in  the  words, 
"Repent  ye;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."    Matt.  3  :  2. 

The  phrase,  "kingdom  of  heaven,"  or  "kingdom  of  God,"  was  evi- 
dently familiar  to  the  hearers  of  John,  and  the  meaning  of  the  phrase, 
up  to  a  certain  point,  is  perfectly  clear.  As  the  kingdom  of  Caesar  is 
the  place  where  Csesar  bears  rule,  so  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  the  place, 
or  the  condition,  where  God  bears  rule.  In  one  sense,  the  whole  uni- 
verse is  the  Kingdom  of  God,  for  nothing  happens  apart  from  God's 
will.  But  evidently  John  was  using  the  phrase  in  some  narrower  sense; 
he  meant  by  the  Kingdom  of  God  the  condition  where  God's  will  is 
wrought  out  to  completion,  where  the  sinful  disobedience  which  pre- 
vails in  the  world  is  banished  and  God  is  truly  King. 

The  Jews  expected  an  age  which  should  be  under  the  perfect  control 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  63 

of  God.  But  they  were  surprised  by  what  John  the  Baptist  said  about 
the  requirements  for  entrance  into  that  age.  They  had  supposed  that 
all  Jews  would  have  the  blessing  of  the  Kingdom,  but  John  told  them 
that  only  the  righteous  would  be  allowed  to  enter  in.  It  was  a  startling 
message,  since  the  hearers  of  John  knew  only  too  well  that  they  did 
not  possess  the  righteousness  which  was  required.  Repentance,  there- 
fore, or  cleansing  from  sin,  was  necessary.  And  the  sign  of  cleansing 
was  baptism. 

Matthew  3: 13  to  4:  11,  and  Parallels 

Among  those  who  came  to  be  baptized  was  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
Matt.  3  :  13-15,  and  parallels.  Jesus  did  not  need  to  be  baptized  for 
his  own  sake,  for  he  had  no  sin  to  be  washed  away.  But  his  baptism 
was  part  of  what  he  was  doing  for  his  people.  Just  as  on  the  cross  he 
received  the  punishment  of  sin,  though  there  was  no  sin  of  his  own, 
so  in  his  baptism  he  represented  the  sinful  people  whom  he  came  to  save. 

When  Jesus  had  been  baptized,  there  was  a  wonderful  event  which 
was  perceived  not  only  by  him  but  also  by  John  the  Baptist.  Matt. 
3  :  16,  17,  and  parallels.  The  Holy  Spirit  descended  upon  him  in  the 
form  of  a  dove,  and  there  was  a  voice  from  heaven  which  said, 
"This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased."  This  event 
marks  the  beginning  of  Jesus'  public  ministry  as  Messiah.  He  had 
been  the  Messiah  already,  and  he  had  already  possessed  the  Holy 
Spirit;  but  now  the  power  of  the  Spirit  impelled  him  to  come  forward 
definitely  as  the  promised  One. 

At  the  very  beginning,  however,  there  was  temptation  to  be  over- 
come. Matt.  4  :  1-11,  and  parallels.  Jesus  was  led  up  from  the  deep 
Jordan  Valley,  where  the  baptism  had  taken  place,  into  the  wilderness 
on  the  heights.  And  there  he  was  tempted.  The  temptation  was  based 
upon  the  holy  experience  which  he  had  just  received.  The  voice  from 
heaven  had  designated  Jesus  as  Son  of  God.  *'If  that  be  true,"  said 
the  Tempter,  "if  thou  art  really  Son  of  God,  use  thy  power  to  obtain 
creature  comfort,  test  out  thy  power  by  casting  thyself  down  from  a 
pinnacle  of  the  Temple,  obtain  the  immediate  enjoyment  of  thy  power 
by  doing  obeisance  to  me."  The  Devil  quoted  Scripture  for  his  evil 
purpose.  But  Jesus  did  not  need  to  repudiate  the  Scripture  in  order 
to  refute  him.  The  Holy  Scriptures  themselves  contained  a  sufficient 
answer  to  every  suggestion  of  the  Evil  One.  The  great  victory  was 
won.    The  Kingdom  of  the  Messiah  was  not  to  be  a  worldly  realm,  and 


64  TEACHING   THE  TEACHER 


it  was  not  to  be  won  by  worldly  means.  The  path  to  the  Messiah's 
throne  led  by  the  way  of  the  cross.  And  that  path  our  Saviour  was 
willing  to  tread  for  our  sakes. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  III 

1.  What  is  known  about  the  boyhood  and  youth  of  Jesus? 

2.  Describe  the  physical  features  and  the  political  divisions  of  Pales- 

tine at  the  time  of  our  Lord.    Where  was  Jesus  born,  where  did 
he  spend  his  youth,  and  where  was  he  baptized? 

3.  What  was  the  meaning  of  John's  baptism?   Why  was  Jesus  baptized? 

4.  What  was  the  meaning  of  each  of  the  three  temptations,  and  how 

did  Jesus  overcome  them? 

LESSON  IV 
The  Early  Judean  Ministry 

John  1 :  19-34 

After  the  temptation  Jesus  descended  again  into  the  Jordan  Valley, 
where  the  baptism  had  taken  place.  There  he  received  the  testimony 
of  John  the  Baptist.  John  1  :  19-34.  John  had  come  not  to  perform  a 
work  of  his  own,  but  to  be  a  witness  to  the  greater  One  who  was  to 
follow.  He  put  aside,  therefore,  all  thoughts  of  personal  ambition, 
declared  plainly  that  he  was  not  the  Christ,  and  rejoiced  when  his 
disciples  left  him  in  order  to  follow  the  One  whom  he  had  come  to 
announce.  John  had  had  revealed  to  him,  moreover,  not  merely  the 
fact  that  Jesus  was  the  Saviour,  but  also  something  of  the  way  in  which 
the  salvation  was  to  be  wrought.  Jesus  was  to  die,  like  a  sacrificial 
lamb,  for  the  sins  of  others.  "Behold,  the  Lamb  of  God,"  said  John  to 
his  disciples,  "that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world!" 

John  1:35-51 

Two  pairs  of  brothers,  in  those  early  days,  left  John  to  follow  the 
Saviour.  John  1  :  35-42.  One  pair  consisted  of  Andrew  and  Peter; 
the  other,  no  doubt,  consisted  of  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  James  and 
John,  although  John,  who  wrote  the  Gospel  in  which  this  narrative  is 
contained,  has  never  mentioned  his  own  name  in  his  book.  Two  other 
men,  besides  these  four,  came  to  Jesus  on  the  following  day— Philip 
and  Nathanael.    Vs.  43-51. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  65 


John  2:  1-11 

After  the  meeting  with  these  six  disciples,  our  Lord  ascended  again 
from  the  valley  of  the  Jordan  to  the  higher  country  of  Galilee.  And 
there,  in  the  village  of  Cana,  he  wrought  the  first  of  his  miracles.  John 
2  :  1-11.  He  was  a  guest  at  a  wedding  feast,  and  when  the  wine  ran 
out  he  supplied  the  lack  by  turning  water  into  wine.  Thereby  he  not 
only  manifested  his  power,  but  also  indicated  the  manner  of  his  min- 
istry. He  was  not  to  be  an  austere  person  like  John  the  Baptist,  living 
far  from  the  habitations  of  men.  On  the  contrary,  his  ministry  was,  for 
those  whom  he  came  to  win,  a  ministry  of  joy.  He  entered  not  merely 
into  the  sorrows,  but  also  into  the  joys  of  men;  the  One  who  was  to  die 
for  the  sins  of  the  world  was  also  mlling  to  grace  a  marriage  feast! 

John  2:12-22 

After  a  brief  sojourn  at  Capernaum,  on  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of 
GaUlee,  where  he  was  afterwards  to  carry  on  a  large  part  of  his  min- 
istry, Jesus  went  southward  to  Jerusalem  at  passover  time.  At  Jeru- 
salem his  first  recorded  act  was  an  act  of  stern  rebuke.  John  2  :  13-22. 
The  Temple  area  was  filled  with  the  tables  of  those  who  sold  the  sheep 
and  oxen  and  doves  which  were  intended  for  sacrifice;  the  sacred 
precincts  of  God's  house  had  been  made  a  place  of  business.  There 
was  no  hesitation  on  the  part  of  Jesus;  he  made  a  scourge  of  cords  and 
drove  the  traffickers  out.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  wonder- 
ful gentleness  of  our  Saviour  or  his  gracious  participation  in  innocent 
joys  was  any  indication  of  weakness.  Though  always  merciful  to  the 
penitent,  Jesus  could  be  indignant  against  blatant  sinners;  and  the 
righteous  anger  of  the  Saviour  was  a  terrible  thing. 

John  2:23-25 

At  Jerusalem  Jesus  won  adherents  because  of  the  miracles  which  he 
wrought.  But  he  was  able  to  distinguish  true  devotion  from  that 
which  was  false.  He  "knew  all  men,  .  .  .  and  needed  not  that  any 
one  should  bear  witness  concerning  man;  for  he  himself  knew  what  was 
in  man."     John  2  :  24,  25. 

John  3:1-15 

One  example  of  this  knowledge  was  afforded  by  the  case  of  Nico- 
demus,  John  3  :  1-15;  Jesus  knew  what  Nicodemus  lacked.     Nico- 


66  TEACHING  THE   TEACHER 

demus,  a  ruler  of  the  Jews,  came  to  Jesus  by  night,  to  discuss  the  sub- 
stance of  what  Jesus  had  been  saying.  But  our  Lord  would  not  waste 
time  with  things  that  lay  on  the  surface.  He  went  straight  to  the  heart 
of  the  matter,  and  said  to  Nicodemus,  ''Ye  must  be  born  anew."  V.  7. 
None  of  the  learning,  none  of  the  worldly  influence  of  Nicodemus 
would  avail;  true  life  could  come  only  by  a  new  birth,  which  all,  rich 
and  poor,  learned  and  ignorant,  must  receive,  and  receive,  not  by  their 
own  efforts,  but  by  the  mysterious  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Jesus 
spoke,  too,  on  that  memorable  night,  of  the  sacrificial  death  which  he 
himself  was  to  die  for  the  sins  of  men.  "As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent 
in  the  wilderness,"  he  said,  "even  so  must  the  Son  of  man  be  lifted  up; 
that  whosoever  belie veth  may  in  him  have  eternal  life." 

John  3:22-30 

Then  Jesus  left  Jerusalem,  the  capital,  and  carried  on,  through  his 
disciples,  a  ministry  of  baptism  in  the  country  districts  of  Judea. 
John  3  :  22-30.  He  was  thus  engaging  in  a  work  which  before  had 
belonged  peculiarly  to  John  the  Baptist.  Some  of  John's  disciples  were 
perhaps  inclined  to  be  envious.  But  there  was  no  envy  in  the  heart 
of  John  himself.  He  had  come  not  for  his  own  sake  but  to  be  a  wit- 
ness to  Jesus  as  Messiah.  And  now  he  rejoiced  in  the  growing  promi- 
nence of  Jesus.  "The  friend  of  the  bridegroom,"  he  said  about  him- 
self, "rejoices  at  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom.  He  must  increase,  but 
I  must  decrease."    Vs.  29,  30,  in  substance. 

John  4:1-42 

When  this  early  Judean  ministry  was  over,  Jesus  went  back  to 
Galilee.  On  the  way  he  passed  through  Samaria.  John  4  :  1-42. 
The  inhabitants  of  Samaria  were  not  of  pure  Jewish  race,  and  although 
they  accepted  the  five  books  of  Moses  and  looked  for  the  coming  of 
a  Messiah,  they  did  not  accept  all  of  the  Old  Testament.  They  were 
despised  by  the  Jews.  But  even  for  the  Samaritans,  and  for  the  most 
degraded  among  them,  the  Saviour  had  a  message  of  hope.  Wearied 
by  his  journey,  our  Lord  was  sitting  by  Jacob's  well  near  the  city  of 
Sychar.  When  his  disciples  had  gone  into  the  city  to  buy  food,  a 
woman  came  to  draw  water  at  the  well.  For  that  woman  it  was  a 
memorable  hour.  Jesus  was  willing  to  labor,  and  that  in  the  midst 
of  his  weariness,  for  one  sinful  soul,  as  well  as  for  all  the  multitudes 
that  had  crowded  around  him  in  Judea.     The  woman  was  of  sinful 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  67 

life,  and  she  could  not  hide  her  sin  from  Jesus  But  Jesus  searched 
out  her  sin,  not  in  order  to  condemn  her,  but  in  order  to  bring  to  her 
the  message  of  salvation.  Attracted,  then,  by  what  the  woman  had 
said,  a  number  of  the  Samaritans  came  to  Jesus  and  recognized  him 
as  the  Messiah  and  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

QUESTIONS  ON   LESSON   IV 

1.  Give  an  account  of  the  testimony  of  John  the  Baptist  to  Jesus. 

How  did  John  know  that  Jesus  was  the  Messiah? 

2.  What  happened  at  Cana?    Who,  besides  Jesus,  was  a  guest  at  the 

feast? 

3.  Give  an  outhne  of  all  the  journeys  of  Jesus  up  to  his  passage  through 

Samaria. 

4.  Give  an  account,  fuller  than  the  outline  given,  of  the  early  Judean 

ministry.    What  did  Jesus  say  when  he  was  asked  to  give  a  sign? 

5.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  "new  birth"?    Is  it  still  necessary  to-day 

if  a  man  is  to  be  saved?    How  does  it  come? 

LESSON  V 
The  Beginning  of  the  Galilaean  Ministry 

After  passing  through  Samaria,  Jesus  arrived  in  Galilee,  and  it 
was  in  Galilee  that  a  large  part  of  his  ministry  was  carried  on.  The 
Galilaean  ministry  is  narrated  for  the  most  part  by  the  first  three 
Gospels,  which  are  called  Synoptic  Gospels,  whereas  the  Gospel  Ac- 
cording to  John  deals  more  particularly  with  the  work  in  Judea. 

Luke  4: 16-30 

After  the  healing  of  a  nobleman's  son,  when  Jesus  was  at  Cana  of 
Galilee,  our  Lord  began  his  preaching  in  the  Galilaean  synagogues. 
Early  in  this  period  he  went  to  Nazareth,  the  place  where  he  had 
been  brought  up.  Luke  4  :  16-30.  But  the  pe^ople  of  Nazareth  could 
not  believe  that  the  carpenter's  Son  whom  they  had  known  was  really 
chosen  by  God  to  fulfill  the  glorious  prophecies  of  Isaiah.  When 
rebuked  by  Jesus  they  even  desired  to  kill  him.  Thus  did  they  illus- 
trate, to  their  own  eternal  loss,  the  words  of  Jesus  that  "No  prophet 
is  acceptable  in  his  own  country." 

Leaving  Nazareth,  our  Lord  went  do-wTi  and  dwelt  at  Capernaum, 


68  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

making  that  city  apparently  the  center  of  his  work.  But  before  the 
details  of  the  Galilaean  ministry  are  studied,  it  will  be  well  to  cast  a 
hurried  glance  at  the  geographical  features  of  the  country  where  Jesus' 
ministry  was  carried  on. 

The  political  divisions  of  Palestine  have  already  been  mentioned — 
Galilee  in  the  north,  under  the  tetrarch,  Herod  Antipas;  Samaria 
and  Judea  to  the  south,  under  the  Roman  procurator,  Pontius  Pilate. 
But  the  physical  features  of  the  country  do  not  correspond  at  all  to 
the  political  divisions.  Physically  the  country  is  divided  into  four 
narrow  strips,  each  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  running 
from  north  to  south.  The  westernmost  strip  is  the  coastal  plain, 
along  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  into  which  Jesus  hardly  went;  then 
comes  the  low  hill  country,  the  "shephela";  then  the  highlands,  upon 
which  Jerusalem  is  situated,  reaching  an  altitude  of  some  2500  feet 
above  sea  level.  These  central  highlands  of  Palestine  are  broken 
by  the  plain  of  Esdraelon,  in  southern  Galilee.  A  little  to  the  north 
of  this  plain,  in  a  hill  country,  lies  the  town  of  Nazareth.  East  of  the 
central  highlands  is  the  deep  valley  of  the  Jordan  River.  The  Jordan 
rises  in  the  extreme  north  of  Palestine,  one  of  its  sources  being 
on  the  slopes  of  the  lofty  Mount  Hermon;  then  flows  southward  to 
the  lake  called  "the  waters  of  Merom";  then,  issuing  from  that  lake, 
it  flows,  after  a  short  course,  into  the  Lake  of  Gennesaret,  or  Sea  of 
Galilee,  which  is  about  twelve  miles  long;  then,  issuing  from  the  Lake 
of  Gennesaret,  it  flows  southward,  through  a  very  deep  valley  to  the 
Dead  Sea,  which  has  no  outlet  and  is  extremely  salt.  During  most 
of  its  course  the  Jordan  Valley  lies  far  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  being 
on  account  of  this  peculiarity  absolutely  unique  among  the  river  valleys 
of  the  world.  The  Dead  Sea  is  1292  feet,  and  the  Lake  of  Gennesaret 
682  feet,  below  sea  level.  It  was  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  Gennesaret 
that  a  large  part  of  our  Lord's  ministry  was  carried  on.  Centuries 
of  misrule  have  now  ruined  the  country,  but  in  those  days  GaUlee 
supported  a  large  population.  The  shores  of  the  lake,  particularly, 
were  lined  with  villages  and  towns.  The  work  of  our  Lord  was  thus 
carried  on  amid  "life's  throng  and  press,"  though  from  time  to  time 
he  sought  out  the  desert  places  for  rest  and  prayer. 

Matthew  4: 18-22,  and  Parallels 

At  the  beginning  of  the  ministry  on  the  shores  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee, 
Jesus  called  the  two  pairs  of  brothers — Simon  Peter  and  Andrew,  and 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  69 

James  and  John.  Matt.  4  :  18-22,  and  parallels.  They  had  known 
Jesus  before,  and  had  devoted  themselves  to  his  service.  But  now 
they  were  commanded  to  show  their  devotion  by  leaving  their  ordinary 
occupation  and  becoming  Jesus'  permanent  followers. 

Mark  1:21-39,  and  Parallels 

The  Gospels  give  a  vivid  picture  of  a  Sabbath  which  Jesus  spent 
at  Capernaum  near  the  beginning  of  his  Galiliean  ministry.  Mark  1  : 
21-34,  and  parallels.  As  usual,  he  went  into  the  synagogue.  Our 
Lord  knew  how  to  find  God's  handiwork  in  the  flowers  of  the  field; 
but  he  was  not  like  those  who  think  that  the  worship  of  God  through 
nature  is  any  substitute  for  the  public  worship  of  the  Church.  In 
the  synagogue  the  people  were  astonished  at  Jesus'  teaching:  "He 
taught  them  as  having  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes."  But 
they  were  also  astonished  at  his  power;  he  commanded  even  the  un- 
clean spirits  and  they  obeyed  him.  He  was  not  merely  a  teacher, 
but  also  a  healer;  he  brought  not  merely  guidance,  but  also  active  help. 

After  the  synagogue  service,  Jesus  went  into  the  house  of  Simon 
and  Andrew  with  James  and  John.  In  the  house  he  healed  Simon's 
wife's  mother  who  was  sick  of  a  fever.  Others  had  heard  of  the  won- 
derful power  of  Jesus,  and  desired  to  be  healed.  But  in  order  not  to 
break  the  Sabbath,  they  waited  until  sunset,  when  the  Jewish  Sabbath 
was  over.  At  sunset  they  brought  to  Jesus  those  who  were  sick  and 
those  who  were  possessed  with  demons,  and  Jesus  put  forth  his  divine 
power  to  heal. 

It  had  been  a  crowded,  busy  day.  Our  Lord  must  have  been  weary 
as  night  at  last  came.  But  even  in  such  busy  days,  he  took  time  to 
seek  the  source  of  all  strength.  A  great  while  before  the  dawn  he 
went  out  into  a  desert  place  and  there  prayed.  Mark  1  :  35-39,  and 
parallels. 

Matthew  9:1-8,  and  Parallels 

After  a  tour  in  the  Galilaean  synagogues,  w4th  both  preaching  and 
healing,  our  Lord  returned  to  Capernaum.  There,  as  is  told  in  one 
of  the  vivid  narratives  of  the  Gospels,  Jesus  healed  a  paralytic.  Matt. 
9  :  1-8,  and  parallels.  The  sick  man  could  not  be  brought  in  by  the 
door  of  the  house  because  of  the  crowds.  But  he  and  his  friends  were 
not  to  be  denied.  The  four  friends  who  bore  his  couch  lowered  him 
through  the  roof  into  the  place  where  Jesus  was.  They  had  found  the 
Healer  at  last.     But  bodily  healing  was  not  the  first  gift  which  Jesus 


70  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

bestowed.  "Son,"  said  Jesus,  "thy  sins  are  forgiven."  It  was  a  strange 
physician  indeed  who  could  forgive  sins.  The  scribes  said  that  the 
word  of  Jesus  was  blasphemy.  And  so  it  was,  unless  Jesus  himself 
were  God.  As  a  proof  of  his  divine  power,  the  Lord  said  also  to  the 
paralytic,  "Arise,  and  take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk."  And  so  the  man 
went  away  from  the  presence  of  the  great  Healer,  whole  in  body  and 
in  mind. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  V 

1.  Describe  the  political  and  the  physical  divisions  of  Palestine.     In 

what  parts  of  the  country  was  our  Lord's  ministry  carried  on? 
Where  was  Nazareth?  Capernaum?  Point  out  these  places  on 
a  map. 

2.  Describe  the  call  of  the  four  disciples.    When  and  where  had  they 

followed  Jesus  before?    What  was  their  occupation? 

3.  Give  an  account  of  the  Sabbath  in  Capernaum  that  is  described  in  the 

Gospels.  What  great  divisions  of  Jesus'  work  were  illustrated  on 
that  day? 

4.  Describe  the  healing  of  the  paralytic.     What  can  be  learned  from 

this  incident  about  the  nature  of  Jesus'  person?  Why  were  the 
scribes  offended? 

LESSON  VI 
The  Period  of  Popularity 

During  the  first  part  of  the  Gahla^an  ministry,  our  Lord  had  the 
favor  of  the  people.  Great  crowds  followed  him  so  that  he  could 
scarcely  enter  into  a  house.  On  one  occasion  he  embarked  in  a  little 
boat  and  put  forth  a  short  distance  into  the  lake,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
speak  to  the  throng  on  the  shore. 

This  popularity,  it  is  true,  was  not  universal.  The  common  people 
heard  Jesus  gladly,  but  the  official  teachers  were  hostile.  These  teachers, 
who  are  called  scribes,  belonged  for  the  most  part  to  the  sect  of  the 
Pharisees.  At  the  time  of  Christ  there  were  two  chief  parties  among 
the  Jews — the  Pharisees  and  the  Sadducees.  The  Sadducees  were  a 
worldly  aristocracy,  in  possession  of  the  high-priestly  offices  at  Jerusa- 
lem, favored  by  the  Romans,  and  satisfied  with  the  existing  political 
order.  The  Pharisees,  on  the  other  hand,  were  a  strict  Jewish  party, 
insisted  on  a  strict  interpretation  of  the  Mosaic  Law,  and  added  to 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  71 

the  Law  a  great  mass  of  oral  *' tradition/"  which  ostensibly  consisted 
of  interpretation  of  the  Law,  but  really  meant  an  enormous  and  oppres- 
sive addition  to  it.  The  Pharisees  were  opposed  to  Jesus  for  at  least 
two  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  they  were  envious  of  his  success  in 
teaching,  which  endangered  their  own  position.  In  the  second  place, 
they  were  opposed  to  the  contents  of  his  teaching;  he  rejected  their 
interpretation  of  the  Law,  and  rebuked  them  for  paying  such  atten- 
tion to  the  detailed  rules  which  were  set  forth  in  their  tradition  as  to 
forget  the  weightier  matters  of  justice  and  mercy. 

The  Conflict  of  Jesus  with  the  Pharisees  was  precipitated  particularly 
by  the  attitude  of  Jesus  toward  the  Sabbath.  The  Sabbath  controversy 
was  carried  on  partly  in  Galilee  and  partly,  John,  ch.  5,  during  a  visit 
of  Jesus  to  Jerusalem.  The  Pharisees  had  developed  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Sabbath  an  elaborate  set  of  rules  which  went  far  beyond 
what  was  set  forth  in  the  Old  Testament.  They  were  offended,  there- 
fore, when  Jesus  refused  to  rebuke  his  disciples  for  plucking  the  ear.s 
of  wheat  on  the  Sabbath  Day,  and  when  he  himself  insisted  on  using 
the  Sabbath  to  perform  works  of  mercy  like  the  healing  of  the  man 
that  had  a  withered  hand. 

But  for  the  present  the  opposition  of  the  Pharisees  was  held  in 
check  by  the  favor  which  our  Lord  had  among  the  people. 

This  favor  was  due  partly  to  the  teaching  of  Jesus  and  partly  to 
his  miracles.  He  interpreted  the  Scriptures  in  a  fresh,  original  way; 
''He  taught  as  one  having  authority  and  not  as  their  scribes."  And 
he  had  power  to  heal  every  manner  of  disease  and  to  cast  out  demons. 
It  was  no  wonder  that  the  crowds  followed  so  wonderful  a  teacher. 

Matthew  4:17 

The  Galilsean  teaching  of  Jesus  began  with  the  proclamation  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  The  message  sounded  at  first  somewhat  like  the 
message  of  John  the  Baptist.  Quite  like  John,  Jesus  came  forward 
with  the  summons,  ''Repent  ye;  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 
But  the  new  teacher  differed  from  John  in  the  more  complete  account 
which  he  gave  of  the  nature  of  the  Kingdom,  and  especially  in  the 
central  place  in  the  Kingdom  which  he  assigned  to  himself. 

Matthew,  Chapters  5  to  7 

The  nature  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  set  forth  in  the  great  dis- 
course of  our  Lord  which  is  commonly  called  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 


72  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

Matt.,  chs.  5  to  7.  Having  gone  up  from  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of 
Galilee  to  the  heights  which  surround  the  lake,  our  Lord  taught  his 
disciples  what  was  to  be  the  life  of  those  who  should  have  a  part 
in  the  Kingdom  of  God.  In  one  sense,  the  Kingdom  lay  altogether  in 
the  future;  it  would  be  ushered  in  with  full  power  only  at  the  end 
of  the  world.  But  in  another  sense,  it  was  present  already  wherever 
there  were  those  who  were  truly  submitting  their  lives  to  Jesus. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  contains  certain  features  which  are 
fundamental  in  all  of  Jesus'  teaching. 

In  the  first  place,  God  is  presented,  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
as  "Father."  The  fatherhood  of  God,  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  is  some- 
times misunderstood.  Jesus  did  not  mean  that  God  is  Father  of  all 
men.  God  stands  indeed  to  all  men  in  a  relation  which  is  analogous 
to  that  of  a  father  to  his  children;  he  cares  for  all,  he  makes  his  sun  to 
rise  upon  all.  Matt.  5  :  45.  But  in  the  teaching  of  Jesus  and  in  the 
whole  New  Testament  the  lofty  term,  "Father,"  is  reserved  for  a 
still  more  intimate  relationship.  So  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
the  great  world  without  is  sharply  distinguished  from  the  company 
of  Jesus'  disciples;  it  is  only  the  latter  who  can  say,  "Our  Father  which 
art  in  heaven." 

There  was  nothing  narrow  in  such  teaching;  for  although  in  Jesus' 
teaching  the  intimate  relation  of  sonship  toward  God  was  offered 
only  to  those  who  should  be  of  the  household  of  faith,  yet  the  door 
of  the  household  of  faith  was  open  wide  to  all  who  would  be  willing 
to  come  in.  Indeed  Jesus  himself  died  on  the  cross  with  the  purpose 
of  opening  that  door.  Our  Saviour  did  far  more  than  teach  men  that 
they  were  already  children  of  God;  he  came  to  make  them  children 
of  God  by  his  saving  work. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  tells  what  kind  of 
life  is  led  by  those  who  should  have  entered  into  the  Kingdom  and 
been  made  the  children  of  God.  That  life  is  far  more  than  obedience 
to  a  set  of  external  rules;  the  purity  which  Jesus  demanded  is  a  purity 
of  the  heart.  The  life  in  the  Kingdom  is  also  far  removed  from  all 
pretense;  the  children  of  God  engage  in  prayer  and  good  works  not 
to  be  seen  by  men  but  to  be  seen  by  God.  Finally,  the  life  in  the 
Kingdom  is  a  life  of  perfect  trust;  all  anxious  thought  for  the  morrow  is 
banished,  since  God  will  care  for  his  children. 

One  difficulty  arises  in  the  reading  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
How  can  such  an  ideal  be  attained?    It  might  be  possible  to  obey  a 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  73 

set  of  rules,  like  the  rules  of  the  Pharisees,  but  how  is  it  possible  for 
sinful  men  to  attain  purity  of  heart?  The  righteousness  of  the  King- 
dom of  heaven  exceeds  by  far  the  "righteousness  of  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees."    How  can  such  righteousness  be  attained? 

The  answer  to  this  question  was  partly  understood  even  by  the 
first  hearers  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  The  disciples  of  Jesus 
knew  even  then  that  Jesus  alone  could  give  them  entrance  into  the 
Kingdom;  they  trusted  in  him  already  not  merely  as  teacher  but  also 
as  Saviour.  But  the  answer  to  the  question  is  far  plainer  to  us;  for 
we  know  the  cross.  The  atoning  death  of  Christ  it  was  that  gave  men 
the  kind  of  righteousness  required  for  entrance  into  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  for  it  gave  them  the  righteousness  of  Christ  himself.  The 
significance  of  the  cross  was  spoken  of  by  our  Lord  even  during  his 
earthly  ministry,  but  the  full  explanation  of  it  was  left  to  the  apostles. 
The  saving  work  of  Jesus  could  be  fully  explained  only  after  it  had 
been  done. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VI 

1.  What  is  the  meaning  of  "the  kingdom  of  God,"  in  Jesus'  teaching? 

2.  Who  were  the  Sadducees?    Who  were  the  Pharisees,  and  why  were 

they  opposed  to  Jesus? 

3.  Give  an  outline  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

LESSON  VII 
The  Turning  Point 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  was  carried  on  in  various  ways.  Sometimes 
there  were  extended  discourses  like  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  On 
the  other  hand,  much  of  the  most  precious  teaching  of  our  Lord  is 
contained  in  brief  sayings  which  were  uttered  in  answer  to  some  objec- 
tion or  in  view  of  some  special  situation.  One  other  form  of  teaching 
requires  special  attention — namely,  the  parables. 

Mark  4: 1-34,  and  Parallels 

A  parable  is  a  narrative  taken  from  ordinary  life,  but  intended  to 
teach  some  spiritual  lesson.  It  differs  from  an  allegory  in  that  the 
application  is  not  to  be  carried  out  in  such  detail.  Ordinarily  a  parable 
teaches  simply   one   lesson;   there   is   only    one    point   of   similarity 


74  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

between  the  literal  meaning  of  the  parable  and  the  deeper  spiritual 
truth.  Thus  when  our  Lord  compared  God's  answer  to  prayer  with 
the  answer  which  an  unjust  judge  gives  to  an  importunate  widow, 
the  details  in  the  two  cases  are  not  intended  to  be  similar;  God  is 
very  different  from  the  unjust  judge.  But  there  is  one  point  of  similarity 
— importunity  does  have  its  effect  in  both  cases. 

The  distinction  between  a  parable  and  an  allegory  is  not  an  absolute 
distinction,  and  sometimes  the  two  shade  into  each  other.  Thus  the 
parable  of  the  Wicked  Husbandmen,  which  Jesus  uttered  nearly  at 
the  close  of  his  earthly  ministry,  partakes  largely  of  the  nature  of 
allegory.  The  details  to  a  considerable  extent  are  significant — the 
wicked  husbandmen  represent  the  Jews  and  their  leaders,  the  servants 
who  were  first  sent  represent  the  prophets,  the  son  who  was  sent  last 
represents  Jesus  himself.  But  many  of  Jesus'  parables  are  parables 
pure  and  simple;  they  are  not  intended  to  be  pressed  in  detail,  but 
teach,  each  of  them,  some  one  lesson. 

The  purpose  of  Jesus  in  using  parables  was  twofold.  In  the  first 
place  the  parables  were  not  clear  to  those  who  did  not  wish  to  learn. 
In  accordance  with  a  principle  of  the  divine  justice,  willful  closing 
of  the  eyes  to  the  truth  brought  an  increase  of  darkness.  But  in  the 
second  place,  to  those  who  were  willing  to  receive  the  truth,  the  parables 
were  made  gloriously  plain;  the  figurative  form  of  the  teaching  only 
served  to  drive  the  meaning  home. 

The  ministry  of  Jesus  did  not  consist  merely  of  teaching.  Along 
with  the  teaching  there  went  wonderful  manifestations  of  divine  power. 
These  manifestations  of  divine  power  were  of  various  kinds.  Many 
of  them  were  miracles  of  healing;  Jesus  had  power  to  make  the  lame 
to  walk,  the  dumb  to  speak,  the  deaf  to  hear.  He  also  had  power  to 
cast  out  demons.  At  the  presence  of  the  Son  of  God,  Satan  and  his 
ministers  had  put  forth  all  their  baneful  power.  But  the  demons 
were  obliged  to  flee  at  Jesus'  word. 

Matthew  8:23-27,  and  Parallels 

Not  all  of  the  miracles,  however,  were  miracles  of  healing.  Some 
of  the  most  notable  of  them  were  of  a  different  kind.  But  all  of  them 
were  manifestations  of  Jesus'  divine  power.  When,  on  the  lake,  in 
the  midst  of  the  frightened  disciples,  our  Lord  said  to  the  winds  and 
the  waves,  "Peace,  be  still,"  the  Ruler  of  all  nature  was  revealed.  The 
particular  form  of  Jesus'  miracles  depended  upon  his  own  inscrutable 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  75 

will;  but  all  of  the  miracles  revealed  him  as  the  Master  of  the  world. 
He  who  had  made  the  world  in  the  beginning  could  still  put  forth 
the  same  creative  power.  A  miracle,  as  distinguished  from  the  ordinary 
course  of  nature,  is  a  manifestation  of  the  creative,  as  distinguished 
from  the  providential,  power  of  God. 

Matthew  14:  1.5-21.  and  Parallels 

Among  the  miracles  of  Jesus  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand  seems 
to  have  been  particularly  important.  Its  importance  is  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  it  is  narrated  in  all  four  of  the  Gospels.  Matt.  14  :  13-21, 
and  parallels.  Even  the  Gospel  of  John,  which  is  concerned  for  the 
most  part  with  what  happened  in  Judea,  here  runs  parallel  with  the 
Synoptic  Gospels  and  narrates  an  event  which  happened  in  GalUee. 

This  event  marks  the  climax  of  the  popularity  of  our  Lord  and  at 
the  same  time  the  beginning  of  his  rejection.  Even  before  this  time 
he  had  been  rejected  by  some;  his  popularit}^  had  been  by  no  means 
universal.  He  had  been  opposed  by  the  scribes  and  Pharisees;  he 
had  not  been  understood  even  by  the  members  of  his  own  household; 
and  he  had  been  rejected  twice  at  the  town  where  he  had  been  brought 
up.    But  for  the  most  part  he  had  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the  people. 

At  the  time  of  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand,  this  popular  favor 
had  reached  its  height.  Jesus  had  withdrawn  from  the  crowds  into 
a  lonely  place  across  the  lake  from  Capernaum.  But  such  was  his 
popularity  that  he  could  not  escape.  The  people  follow^ed  him  even 
when  he  tried  to  be  alone;  they  had  had  no  thought  of  food  or  of  lodging 
for  the  night,  so  eager  had  they  been  to  listen  to  his  teaching.  When 
evening  came,  therefore,  they  were  in  want.  But  our  Lord  had  pity 
on  them  because  they  were  like  sheep  without  'a  shepherd.  By  a 
gracious  manifestation  of  his  divine  power  he  made  the  five  loaves  and 
two  fishes  suffice  for  all  the  multitude. 

Matthew  14:22-34,  and  Parallels 

After  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand  Jesus  found  at  last  the  solitude 
which  he  had  sought;  he  went  up  into  the  mountain  to  pray.  The  mul- 
titudes were  making  their  way  around  the  lake  by  the  shore;  the  disciples 
had  taken  the  only  boat  and  were  rowing  hard  against  the  wind. 
But  about  three  o'clock  at  night  our  Lord  came  to  the  disciples 
walking  upon  the  water.  It  is  no  wonder  that  they  bowed  before 
him  and  said,  ''Of  a  truth  thou  art  the  Son  of  God." 


76  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 


John  6:22-71 

Meanwhile  the  multitude  had  gone  on  foot  around  the  lake  to  Caper- 
naum. When  they  found  Jesus  there  before  them  they  were  astonished. 
But  their  astonishment,  unfortunately,  was  not  of  the  Idnd  that  leads 
to  true  and  abiding  faith.  They  had  valued  the  earthly  bread  which 
Jesus  had  given  them,  but  were  not  willing  to  receive  the  spiritual 
bread.  Jesus  himself,  he  told  them,  was  the  Bread  of  life  who  had 
come  down  from  heaven;  only  those  could  truly  live  who  would  feed 
upon  him  by  accepting  his  saving  work.    John  6  :  22-71. 

It  seemed  to  the  Jews  to  be  a  hard  saying.  How  could  the  Jesus 
whose  family  they  knew  be  the  bread  which  had  come  down  from 
heaven?  Many  even  of  those  who  had  formerly  followed  Jesus  were 
offended  at  this  "hard  saying."  The  popularity  of  Jesus  at  this  time 
began  to  wane. 

But  there  were  some  disciples  who  remained.  Jesus  had  chosen 
twelve  men,  whom  he  called  apostles.  He  had  had  them  as  his  com- 
panions, and  already  he  had  sent  them  out  on  a  mission  to  teach  and 
to  heal.  Turning  now  to  them,  he  asked,  "Would  ye  also  go  away?" 
Then  Peter,  speaking  for  the  others,  showed  the  difference  between 
true  disciples  and  those  who  are  offended  at  every  hard  saying.  "Lord," 
he  said,  "to  whom  shall  we  go?  thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life." 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VII 

1.  What  is  a  parable?    How  does  it  differ  from  an  allegory? 

2.  Why  did  Jesus  use  parables?    Mention  some  of  the  parables  recorded 

in  the  Gospels. 

3.  What  is  a  miracle?    Why  did  Jesus  work  miracles? 

4.  What  is  the  particular  importance  of  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand? 

5.  Why  were  the  people  offended  by  the  discourse  on  the  Bread  of  life? 

LESSON  VIII 
Jesus  as  Messiah 

The  waning  of  Jesus'  popularity  was  by  no  means  sudden.  Even 
after  the  discourse  on  the  Bread  of  life,  we  frequently  find  the  multi- 
tudes around  him.  But  in  general,  from  that  time  on  our  Lord  seems 
to  have  withdrawn  from  the  crowds  more  frequently  than  before, 
in  order  to  devote  himself  to  the  instruction  of  his  intimate  disciples. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  77 


Matthew  15:21-39,  and  Parallels 

At  this  time  our  Lord  withdrew  into  Phoenicia,  northwest  of  Palestine. 
In  Phoenicia  he  healed  the  daughter  of  a  Syrophoenician  woman.  It 
was  a  foretaste  of  the  rich  streams  of  mercy  which  after  Pentecost 
were  to  flow  out  into  the  whole  world. 

After  a  brief  stay  in  Phoenicia,  Jesus  returned  to  Galilee,  where 
he  engaged  again  in  controversy  with  the  Pharisees  and  again,  by  his 
divine  power,  fed  a  great  multitude.  This  second  time  four  thousand 
men  were  fed.  There  were  also  miracles  of  heahng,  and  in  general 
the  essential  characteristics  of  the  Galilsean  ministry  were  continued. 

Matthew  16:13-20,  and  Parallels 

But  before  long  Jesus  departed  again  from  Galilee,  and  finally  went 
with  his  disciples  to  the  regions  of  Csesarea  Philippi,  northeast  of 
Galilee.  Near  Caesarea  Philippi  occurred  the  great  confession  of  Peter, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  important  incidents  of  the  Gospel  record. 
Matt.  16  :  13-20,  and  parallels. 

"Who,"  Jesus  asked  of  his  disciples,  "do  men  say  that  I  am?  And 
they  told  him,  saying,  Ehjah;  but  others,  One  of  the  prophets.  And 
he  asked  them,  But  who  say  ye  that  I  am?  Peter  answereth  and  saith 
unto  him.  Thou  art  the  Christ."    Mark  8  :  27-29. 

In  this  confession  Peter  recognized  that  Jesus  was  the  "Messiah," 
the  "Anointed  One,"  or  according  to  the  Greek  translation  of  the 
same  w^ord,  "the  Christ."  It  was  by  no  means  the  first  recognition 
of  the  fact.  The  Messiahship  of  Jesus  had  been  revealed  to  Joseph 
and  Mary  and  Zacharias  and  Elisabeth  even  before  Jesus  was  born; 
it  had  been  revealed  to  the  shepherds  and  the  Wise  Men  who  greeted 
the  infant  Saviour;  it  had  been  revealed  to  John  the  Baptist;  it  had 
been  revealed  to  the  little  group  of  disciples  w^ho  left  John  at  the  Jordan 
in  order  to  follow  Jesus;  it  had  been  proclaimed  by  Jesus  himself  in 
his  conversations  with  Nicodemus  and  with  the  Samaritan  woman; 
it  had  been  recognized  even  by  the  unclean  spirits. 

But  although  Jesus  had  been  proclaimed  as  Messiah  before,  the 
confession  of  Peter  w^as  by  no  means  a  matter  of  course.  Although 
the  disciples  had  already  accepted  Jesus  as  the  Messiah  it  required 
considerable  faith  and  devotion  to  continue  to  accept  him,  for  Jesus 
was  not  the  kind  of  Messiah  whom  the  Jews  had  been  expecting.  They 
had  been  expecting  a  Messiah  who,  as  anointed  king  of  Israel,  would 


78  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

deliver  God's  people  from  the  Roman  oppressors,  and  make  Jerusalem 
the  center  of  the  whole  world. 

Such  expectations  seemed  to  be  set  at  nought  by  the  Prophet  of 
Nazareth.  No  kingly  pomp  surrounded  him;  he  mingled  freely  with 
the  common  people;  he  lived  in  the  utmost  humility,  having  not  even 
a  place  to  lay  his  head.  Political  Messiahship  he  definitely  refused. 
When,  after  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand,  the  people  were  about 
to  come  and  make  him  a  king — that  is,  the  Messianic  king — he  left 
them  and  withdrew  into  the  mountain.  John  6  :  15.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  they  were  disappointed.  All  their  enthusiasm  seemed  to  be  ruth- 
lessly quenched.  Jesus  would  have  absolutely  nothing  to  do  with  the 
kind  of  Messiahship  which  they  offered. 

By  this  attitude  of  Jesus  no^  only  the  multitudes  were  discouraged. 
Even  the  members  of  Jesus'  household  failed  to  understand,  and  the 
very  forerunner  of  Jesus,  John  the  Baptist  himself,  was  assailed, 
momentarily  at  least,  by  doubts.  Conceivably  the  twelve  apostles 
also  might  have  been  discouraged.  But  their  faith  remained  firm. 
Despite  all  disappointments,  despite  the  refusal  of  our  Lord  to  accept 
what  were  supposed  to  be  prerogatives  of  Messiahship,  Peter  was 
able  still  to  say,  at  Csesarea  Philippi,  "Thou  art  the  Christ." 

But  in  what  sense  was  Jesus  the  Christ?  He  was  not  an  earthly 
king  who  would  lead  the  armies  of  Israel  out  to  battle  against  the 
Romans.  He  was  not  that  sort  of  Messiah.  What  then  was  he?  What 
was  Jesus'  own  conception  of  Messiahship? 

In  order  to  answer  that  question  fully,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
return  to  the  study  of  the  Old  Testament.  Jesus  accepted  to  the  full 
the  Old  Testament  promises  about  the  Messiah;  what  he  rejected 
was  merely  a  false  interpretation  of  them. 

Even  those  promises  of  the  Old  Testament  which  make  the  Messiah 
a  king  of  David's  line  were  fulfilled  in  Jesus.  He  was  actually  of  David's 
line,  and  he  was  born  in  David's  city.    He  was  also  the  I^ng  of  Israel. 

Only  his  kingship  was  exercised  in  ways  different  from  those  which 
the  people  generally  were  expecting.  And  there  were  other  features 
of  the  Old  Testament  promises  which  Jesus  also  fulfilled.  Jesus  was 
Qot  only  Son  of  David;  he  was  also  Son  of  Man.  The  title  "Son  of 
Man,"  which  was  Jesus'  own  Messianic  designation  of  himself,  does  not 
denote  merely  the  humanity  of  Jesus  in  distinction  from  his  deity.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  plainly  taken  from  the  stupendous  scene  in  Dan.  7  : 
13,  where  "one  like  unto  a  son  of  man"  is  represented  as  coming  with 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  79 

the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  as  being  in  the  presence  of  God.  It  indi- 
cates, therefore,  not  the  human  weakness  of  Jesus,  but  his  exalted 
position  as  supreme  Ruler  and  Judge. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  for  a  time  at  least  during  his  earthly  ministry- 
Jesus  used  this  title  of  the  Messiah  rather  than  the  other  titles,  for 
the  title  Son  of  Man  was  without  the  political  associations  which  Jesus 
desired  to  avoid.  It  had  been  employed,  not  so  much  by  the  masses 
of  the  people,  as  by  the  circles  which  read  the  books  which  are  called 
the  "Apocalypses."  In  these  books,  on  the  basis  of  Daniel  and  other 
Old  Testament  prophecies,  the  Messiah  was  represented  not  as  a 
political  king,  but  as  a  heavenly,  supernatural  person.  The  title, 
therefore,  was  admirably  fitted  to  designate  the  lofty  character  of 
the  Messiah's  person,  without  the  dangerous  political  associations 
which  had  gathered  around  certain  other  titles. 

Indeed  for  a  time,  in  the  early  Galilsean  ministry,  our  Lord  seems 
to  have  kept  his  Messiahship  somewhat  in  the  background.  Public 
proclamation  of  his  Messiahship  would  have  aroused  false,  worldly 
hopes  of  political  upheaval.  Before  proclaiming  himself  again  as 
Messiah,  our  Lord  needed  to  make  clear  by  his  teaching  and  by  his 
example  what  kind  of  Messiah  he  was;  before  finally  setting  up  his 
Kingdom  he  needed  to  show  that  that  Kingdom  was  not  of  this  world. 
But  he  was  Messiah  and  King  from  the  beginning,  and  even  at  the 
beginning  his  Messiahship  had  been  made  known. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VIII 

1.  Mention  some  of  the  titles  which  are  used  to  designate  Jesus  as 

Messiah,  and  explain  their  meaning.    Was  the  title  "Son  of  Man" 
ever  used  with  reference  to  Jesus  by  anyone  except  Jesus  himself? 

2.  What  was  the  significance  of  Peter's  confession? 

3.  Why  did  Jesus  become  less  popular  than  he  was  at  first? 

LESSON  IX 

The  Prediction  of  the  Cross 

Peter's  confession  at  Caesarea  Phihppi  was  a  triumph  of  faith,  for 
which  Jesus  pronounced  Peter  blessed.  Through  a  revelation  from 
God,  Peter  had  been  made  able  to  endure  the  disappointment  involved 
in  Jesus'  refusal  of  kingly  honors.  But  another  trial  of  faith  was  soon 
to  come. 


80  TEACHING   THE    TEACHER 

Matthew  16:21-28,  and  Parallels 

After  Peter's  acknowledgment  of  Jesus  as  Messiah,  our  Lord  began 
to  teach  the  disciples  more  of  what  his  Messiahship  meant.  Matt. 
16  :  21-28,  and  parallels.  It  meant,  he  said,  not  worldly  honors, 
and  not  merely  a  continuation  of  the  humble  life  in  Galilee,  but  actual 
sufferings  and  death.  This  teaching  was  more  than  Peter  could  endure. 
"Be  it  far  from  thee.  Lord,"  he  said,  "this  shall  never  be  unto  thee." 
In  such  rebellion  against  God's  will  Jesus  recognized  a  repetition 
of  the  temptation  which  had  come  to  him  at  the  first,  immediateh^ 
after  the  voice  from  heaven  had  proclaimed  him  to  be  the  Messiah — 
the  temptation  to  use  his  Messianic  power  for  his  own  worldly  glor}'. 
And  now  as  well  as  then  the  temptation  was  resolutely  overcome. 
"Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan,"  said  Jesus:  "thou  art  a  stumbling- 
block  unto  me :  for  thou  mindest  not  the  things  of  God,  but  the  things 
of  men." 

Jesus  was  thus  ready  to  tread  the  path  of  suffering  which  he  had 
come  into  the  world,  for  our  sakes,  to  tread.  And  he  called  upon  his 
true  disciples  to  tread  that  path  after  him.  Yet  all  the  suffering  was 
to  be  followed  by  a  greater  glory  than  Peter  had  ever  conceived;  and 
almost  immediately  there  was  a  wonderful  foretaste  of  that  glory. 

Matthew  17:1-13,  and  Parallels 

Six  days  after  the  scene  at  Csesarea  Philippi,  our  Lord  took  Peter 
and  James  and  John,  his  three  most  intimate  disciples,  with  him  up 
upon  a  high  mountain — no  doubt  somewhere  on  the  slopes  of  the  lofty 
Mount  Hermon.  There  he  was  transfigured  before  them.  Matt.  17  : 
1-13,  and  parallels;  "his  face  did  shine  as  the  sun,  and  his  garments 
became  white  as  the  light."  With  him  appeared  Moses  and  Elijah, 
talking  with  him.  And  they  were  talking  about  what  seems  to  be  a 
strange  subject  at  such  a  moment.  They  were  talking  not  of  the 
glories  of  Jesus'  Kingdom,  but  of  the  "departure"  which  he  was  about 
to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem.  Luke  9  :  31.  The  "departure"  included 
not  only  the  resurrection  and  the  ascension,  but  also  the  crucifixion. 
Even  the  shining  light  of  the  transfiguration  was  intended  to  point 
to  the  cross. 

Matthew  17: 14-20,  and  Parallels 

After  the  glorious  experience  on  the  mountain,  our  Lord  came  at 
once  into  contact  with  the  repulsiveness  of  human   misorv.     Matt. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  81 

17  :  14-20,  and  parallels.  But  he  did  not  shrink  from  the  sudden 
transition.  As  he  came  down  from  the  mountain,  he  found  at  the 
bottom  a  boy  possessed  of  a  demon,  who  "fell  on  the  ground,  and 
wallowed  foaming."  It  was  a  depressing  sight,  very  unlike  the  bright- 
ness of  the  transfiguration.  Even  more  discouraging,  moreover,  than 
the  condition  of  the  boy  himself  was  the  powerlessness  of  the  disciples. 
They  had  tried  to  cast  the  demon  out  but  had  failed  miserably,  not 
because  the  power  might  not  have  been  theirs,  but  because  of  their 
unbelief.  The  father  of  the  boy,  too,  was  lacking  in  faith.  ''I  believe," 
he  said;  "help  thou  mine  unbelief."  Jesus  did  help  his  unbelief,  and 
the  unbelief  of  the  disciples.  He  rebuked  the  unclean  spirit,  and  healed 
the  boy. 

At  this  period  Jesus  repeated  on  several  occasions  the  prophecy  of 
his  death.  The  tragedy  on  Calvary  did  not  overtake  him  unawares. 
He  went  deliberately  to  his  death  for  our  sakes. 

Matthew  18: 1-6,  and  Parallels 

Even  on  such  solemn  days,  when  the  shadow  of  the  cross  lay  over 
the  path,  the  disciples  were  unable  to  overcome  the  pettiness  of  their 
character.  On  the  very  journey  when  Jesus  had  told  them  about  his 
approaching  death,  they  had  quarreled  about  the  question  as  to  which 
of  them  should  be  greatest  in  the  Kingdom  of  heaven.  Thereby  they 
had  shown  how  far  they  were  from  understanding  the  true  nature  of 
the  Kingdom.  If  the  Kingdom  was  finally  to  be  advanced  under  the 
leadership  of  such  men,  some  mighty  change  would  have  to  take  place 
in  them.  That  change  did  take  place  afterwards,  as  we  shall  see, 
at  Pentecost.  But  at  present  the  pettiness  and  carnal-mindedness 
of  the  disciples  added  to  the  sorrows  of  our  Lord.  Despite  the  intimacy 
into  which  he  entered  with  his  earthly  friends,  he  towered  in  lonely 
grandeur  above  them  all. 

After  the  transfiguration  and  related  events  near  Csesarea  Philippi, 
our  Lord  returned  to  Galilee.  But  apparently  he  did  not  resume 
permanently  his  Galilsean  ministry.  Soon  we  find  him  passing  through 
Samaria,  and  laboring  in  Judea  and  in  that  country  east  of  the  Jordan 
River  which  is  called  Perea.  This  part  of  Jesus'  ministry  is  recorded 
particularly  in  the  Gospels  According  to  Luke  and  According  to  John, 
although  Matthew  and  Mark  contain  important  information  about 
the  latter  part  of  the  period.  The  general  character  of  the  period  is 
fixed  by  the  expectation  of  the  cross.    Jesus  had  set  his  face  toward 


82  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

Jerusalem  to  accomplish  the  atoning  work  which  he  had  come  into 
the  world  to  perform. 

Luke  10: 1-24  ;  John,  Chapter  5 

At  the  beginning  of  the  period  Jesus  sent  out  seventy  disciples,  to 
prepare  for  his  own  coming  into  the  several  cities  and  villages  which 
he  was  intending  to  visit.  The  Seventy  were  in  possession  of  some- 
thing of  Jesus'  power;  they  were  able  to  report  with  joy  that  the  demons 
were  subjected  to  them. 

During  the  same  period  we  find  Jesus  in  Jerusalem  at  the  feast  of 
tabernacles.  Even  during  the  period  of  the  Galilaean  ministry  Jesus 
had  gone  up  to  Jerusalem  at  least  once,  at  the  time  of  one  of  the  Jewish 
feasts;  and  in  connection  with  the  healing  of  a  man  at  the  pool  of 
Bethesda  he  had  then  set  forth  the  true  nature  of  his  person  and  his 
relation  to  God  the  Father.  John,  ch.  5.  At  the  later  period  with 
which  we  are  now  dealing,  the  same  teaching  was  continued.    Chs.  7,  8. 

Matthew  11:27,  and  Parallels 

It  is  particularly  the  Gospel  of  John  which  records  the  way  in  which 
Jesus  set  forth  the  nature  of  his  own  person,  but  what  is  fully  set  forth 
in  the  Gospel  of  John  is  really  implied  all  through  the  Synoptic  Gospels, 
and  in  Matt.  11  :  27;  Luke  10  :  22  it  is  made  just  as  plain  as  it  is  in 
John.  According  to  his  own  teaching,  Jesus  stood  in  a  relation  toward 
God  the  Father  which  is  absolutely  different  from  that  in  which  other 
men  stand  toward  God.  In  the  plainest  possible  way,  our  Lord  laid 
claim  to  true  deity.  "I  and  my  Father,"  he  said,  *'are  one."  All  the 
Gospels  present  the  true  humanity  of  Jesus,  the  Gospel  According  to 
John,  no  less  than  the  Synoptists.  But  all  the  Gospels  also  set  forth 
his  deity.  He  was,  according  to  a  true  summary  of  the  Gospel  teach- 
ing, "God  and  man,  in  two  distinct  natures,  and  one  person  for  ever." 

QUESTIONS  ON   LESSON   IX 

1.  What  trial  of  Peter's  faith  came  just  after  his  great  confession? 

2.  What  was  the  meaning  of  the  transfiguration? 

3.  What  event  took  place  just  afterwards? 

4.  Give  an  account  of  Jesus'  teaching  at  the  time  of  the  feast  of  taber- 

nacles.   John,  chs.  7,  8.    How  was  this  teaching  received? 

5.  Give  an  account  of  the  mission  of  the  Seventy  and  compare  it  with 

the  previous  mission  of  the  Twelve. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  83 


LESSON  X 
The  Last  Journeys 

John,  Chapter  9 

During  the  latter  part  of  Jesus'  ministry,  with  which  Lesson  IX 
began  to  deal,  Jesus  spoke  some  of  the  most  beautiful  of  his  parables. 
A  number  of  them,  such  as  the  Good  Samaritan  and  the  Prodigal 
Son,  are  recorded  only  by  Luke.  From  the  same  period  the  Gospel 
According  to  John  records  some  notable  teaching  of  Jesus,  in  addition 
to  that  which  was  mentioned  in  the  last  lesson.  Part  of  this  teach- 
ing was  introduced  by  the  healing  of  the  man  born  blind.  John,  ch.  9. 
This  miracle,  which  had  been  performed  on  the  Sabbath,  had  aroused 
the  special  opposition  of  the  Pharisees.  In  answer  to  them,  our  Lord 
pointed  out  the  difference  between  those  leaders  of  the  people  who 
are  like  robbers  breaking  into  the  sheepfold  or  at  best  like  hirelings 
who  flee  at  the  first  approach  of  danger,  and  the  good  shepherd  who  is 
willing  to  lay  down  his  life  for  the  sheep.  Such  a  shepherd  was  Jesus 
himself,  and  his  life  was  soon  to  be  laid  down. 

John  11:1-53 

Finally,  after  various  journeyings  of  Jesus  iu  Judea  and  in  Perea, 
there  occurred  in  Bethan^^  a  little  village  near  Jerusalem,  one  of  the 
most  notable  of  our  Lord's  miracles.  John  11  :  1-44.  At  Bethany 
lived  a  certain  Lazarus  with  his  sisters  Martha  and  Mary,  whom 
Jesus  knew  well.  Lazarus  fell  ill  during  the  absence  of  Jesus  across 
the  Jordan  in  Perea;  and  the  illness  resulted  in  his  death.  On  the 
fourth  day  after  Lazarus'  death,  Jesus  came  to  Bethany.  Martha 
came  to  meet  him;  Mary  remained  mourning  in  the  house,  until  her 
sister  brought  word  that  Jesus  had  arrived.  Then  she,  too,  went  to 
meet  the  Lord.  When  Jesus  saw  her  and  her  friends  weeping  for  the 
one  who  had  died,  he,  too,  wept  with  them.  But  he  had  power  not 
only  to  sj^mpathize,  but  also  to  help.  Going  with  the  sisters  to  the 
tomb,  he  caused  the  stone  to  be  removed,  then  prayed,  and  then  called 
with  a  loud  voice,  "Lazarus,  come  forth."  At  the  word  of  Jesus,  the 
dead  man  came  out  of  the  tomb.  Jesus  was  Master  over  death  and 
the  grave. 

It  was  not  the  first  time  that  our  Lord  had  raised  the  dead.  He 
had  raised  the  daughter  of  Jairus  in  Galilee  and  the  son  of  the  widow 


84  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

of  Nain.  But  the  raising  of  Lazarus  is  especially  important,  not  only 
because  of  the  wonderfully  vivid  way  in  which  the  incident  is  narrated 
in  the  Gospel  According  to  John,  but  also  because  it  served  to  hasten 
the  crisis  in  Jerusalem.  Both  the  Sadducees  and  the  Pharisees  were 
now  aroused.  The  movement  instituted  by  Jesus  had  reached  alarm- 
ing proportions.  If  allowed  to  continue  it  would  be  full  of  danger. 
The  Romans,  it  was  feared,  would  regard  it  as  rebellion  and  would 
utterly  destroy  the  nation  of  the  Jews.  The  diverse  parties  among  the 
Jewish  leaders  were  becoming  more  and  more  united  against  the  strange 
Prophet  from  Galilee. 

John  11:  54 

For  a  short  time  still  the  crisis  was  delayed.  Our  Lord  retired  from 
Judea  to  a  city  called  Ephraim,  near  the  wilderness.  We  also  find  him, 
in  this  period  of  his  life,  again  beyond  the  Jordan,  in  Perea.  In  this 
Perean  residence  is  to  be  placed  a  portion  of  the  teaching  contained 
in  the  Synoptic  Gospels,  such  as  the  teaching  concerning  divorce. 
Matt.  19  :  3-12,  and  parallels,  the  words  to  the  rich  young  ruler, 
vs.  16-30,  and  parallels,  and  the  parable  of  the  Laborers  in  the  Vine- 
yard.    Matt.  20  :  1-16. 

Luke  19:2-10 

Before  long,  however,  Jesus  went  up  to  Jerusalem  for  the  last  time. 
On  the  way,  when  he  was  passing  through  Jericho,  in  the  Jordan 
Valley,  he  healed  two  blind  men,  and  converted  the  tax  collector 
Zacchseus.  The  conversion  of  Zacchaeus  was  in  accord  with  Jesus' 
custom  all  through  his  ministry.  The  taxgatherers  were  despised  by 
the  rest  of  the  Jews  at  the  time  of  Christ.  They  had  allied  themselves 
with  the  Roman  oppressors,  and  no  doubt  most  of  them  were  guilty 
of  abominable  extortion  on  their  own  account.  By  the  Pharisees, 
particularly,  they  were  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  very  dregs  of  the 
people,  with  whom  no  true  observer  of  the  law  could  be  intimate. 
But  Jesus  was  bound  by  no  limits  in  his  saving  work.  He  did  not 
condone  sin — either  the  sin  of  the  taxgatherers  or  the  sin  of  the  Pharisees. 
But  he  was  willing  to  save  from  sin  all  who  would  believe.  The  whole, 
he  said,  need  not  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  The  Son  of 
Man  had  come  to  "seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost." 

John  11:55  to  12:1 

Toiling  up  the  long  ascent  from  Jericho,  our  Lord  arrived  at  last, 
six  days  before  the  passover,  at  the  village  of  Bethany,  which  is  less 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  85 

than  two  miles  from  Jerusalem.  During  the  remaining  time  before 
the  crucifixion  Jesus  went  every  morning  into  the  city  and  returned 
in  the  evening  to  lodge  with  his  friends  at  Bethany. 

Matthew  26:6-13,  and  Parallels 
Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Bethany,  when  Jesus  was  reclining  at  table 
in  the  house  of  a  certain  Simon  the  leper,  he  was  anointed  by  Mary 
the  sister  of  Lazarus.  Matt.  26  :  6-13;  Mark  14  :  3-9;  John  12  :  2-8. 
This  anointing  is  not  to  be  confused  with  a  somewhat  similar  event 
which  had  taken  place  some  time  before,  when  Jesus  had  been  anointed 
by  a  woman  who  had  been  a  notorious  sinner.  Luke  7  :  36-50.  The 
disciples  murmured  at  the  waste.  The  precious  ointment,  they  said, 
might  have  been  sold  for  a  great  sum,  which  could  have  been  distributed 
to  the  poor.  Judas  Iscariot,  one  of  the  Twelve,  had  a  special  cause 
for  dissatisfaction;  in  his  case  the  mention  of  the  poor  was  only  a  cloak 
for  covetousness.  Judas  kept  the  bag,  and  if  the  proceeds  of  the  oint- 
ment had  been  put  into  his  keeping,  he  could  have  indulged  his  thiev- 
ing propensities.  But  all  the  murmuring,  whether  it  proceeded  from 
more  sordid  motives  or  from  a  mere  misunderstanding  of  the  true 
spirit  of  the  woman's  act,  was  rebuked  by  our  Lord.  The  woman, 
he  said,  had  anointed  his  body  beforehand  for  the  burial.  The  days 
just  before  the  crucifixion  were  no  time  for  true  disciples  to  murmur 
at  an  act  which  was  prompted  by  overflowing  love  for  the  Saviour 
who  was  so  soon  to  die. 

Matthew  21: 1-11,  and  Parallels 

On  the  day  after  the  supper  at  Bethany,  that  is,  on  the  day  after 
the  Jewish  Sabbath,  on  the  ninth  day  of  the  Jewish  spring  month 
Xisan,  our  Lord  entered  into  Jerusalem.  Matt.  21  :  1-11,  and  paral- 
lels. It  was  a  triumphal  entry;  Jesus  was  received  publicly  by  the 
multitudes  as  the  Messiah,  the  promised  King  of  Israel.  Even  the 
manner  of  his  entrj"-  was  in  accordance  with  prophecy;  he  came  riding 
over  the  IMount  of  Olives  and  into  the  city  mounted  on  an  ass,  in 
accordance  with  Zech.  9  :  9.  The  promised  King  of  Israel  at  last 
had  come.  The  multitudes  strewed  palm  branches  in  the  way,  and 
cried,  ''Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David." 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  X 
1.  Where  was  Perea?     Jericho?     Bethany?     Ephraim?     Find  on  a 
map  the  places  mentioned  in  this  lesson, 


36  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

2.  Give  an  account  of  all  the  times  when  Jesus,  during  his  earthly 

ministry,  raised  the  dead.     In  what  Gospels  are  these  incidents 
narrated? 

3.  What  is  the  special  importance  of  the  raising  of  Lazarus? 

4.  Give  an  account  of  some  of  those  parables  of  Jesus  which  are  con- 

tained only  in  the  Gospel  According  to  Luke. 

LESSON  XI 
Teaching  in  the  Temple 

Despite  the  enthusiasm  which  the  multitudes  had  shown  at  the 
time  when  Jesus  entered  into  Jerusalem,  despite  the  shouts  of  those 
who  cried,  "Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"  Jesus 
knew  that  he  was  going  to  his  death,  and  that  Jerusalem  would  soon 
turn  against  her  King.  "When  he  drew  nigh,"  we  are  told  in  the  Gospel 
According  to  Luke,  "he  saw  the  city  and  wept  over  it,  saying.  If  thou 
hadst  known  in  this  day,  even  thou,  the  things  which  belong  unto 
peace!  but  now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes."    Luke  19  :  41,  42. 

On  the  Sunday  of  the  triumphal  entry  it  was  already  late  when 
Jesus  entered  into  the  Temple  area.  He  did  nothing,  therefore,  that 
day,  except  look  about  him;  and  then  he  returned  to  Bethany  with  the 
twelve  apostles.    Mark  11  :  11. 

Matthew  21:12-19,  and  Parallels 

On  Monday,  however,  the  final  conflict  began.  Entering  into  the 
city,  our  Lord  cast  out  of  the  Temple  those  who  bought  and  sold, 
just  as  he  had  done  at  the  beginning  of  his  public  ministry.  The 
rebuke  which  he  had  administered  several  years  before  had  had  no 
permanent  effect.  But  Jesus  did  not  hesitate  to  rebuke  again  those 
who  made  God's  house  a  place  of  business.  The  rulers,  of  course, 
were  incensed.  But  popular  favor  for  a  time  put  a  check  upon  their 
hate.  On  the  way  into  the  city,  Jesus  said  to  a  fig  tree,  which  was 
bearing  leaves  only,  ''No  man  eat  fruit  from  thee  henceforward  for 
ever."  The  motives  of  our  Lord's  act  are  not  fully  known  to  us; 
but  at  least  he  was  able  afterwards  to  point  out  through  the  case  of 
the  fig  tree  the  limitless  power  of  faith.  The  disciples  were  exhorted 
to  pray  in  faith.  But  their  prayers,  Jesus  said,  must  be  in  love;  no 
unforgiving  spirit  should  be  left  in  their  souls  when  they  prayed  to  their 
heavenly  Father  for  their  own  forgiveness. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  87 

The  next  day,  Tuesday,  was  a  day  of  teaching.  Our  Lord  spent 
the  day  in  the  Temple,  meeting  the  attacks  of  his  enemies.  And  he 
had  an  answer  to  every  inquiry;  the  trick  questions  of  his  enemies 
always  redounded  to  their  own  rebuke. 

Matthew  21 :  23-32,  and  Parallels 

First  our  Lord  was  questioned  as  to  the  authority  by  which  he  had 
cleansed  the  Temple  the  day  before.  Matt.  21  :  23-32,  and  parallels. 
He  answered  that  question  by  another  question:  *'The  baptism  of 
John,  whence  was  it?  from  heaven  or  from  men?"  The  chief  priests 
and  elders  could  not  say.  They  were  not  really  sincere  seekers  for 
divine  authority.  But  Jesus  was  not  content  with  having  silenced 
them.  He  also  pointed  out,  positively,  their  sin  in  not  receiving  the 
word  of  God  which  had  come  through  John. 

Matthew  21:33-46,  and  Parallels 

Still  more  scathing  was  the  rebuke  which  Jesus  uttered  through  the 
parable  of  the  Wicked  Husbandmen.  Matt.  21  :  33-46,  and  parallels. 
The  wicked  husbandmen  had  been  put  in  charge  of  a  vineyard.  But 
when  the  time  came  to  render  the  fruit  of  the  vineyard  to  the  owner, 
they  killed  the  servants  who  were  sent  to  them  and  finally  the  owner's 
son.  The  chief  priests  and  Pharisees  needed  no  elaborate  explanation; 
they  would  probably  in  any  case  have  applied  the  parable  to  them- 
selves. But  as  a  matter  of  fact  Jesus  made  the  application  abundantly 
plain.  "The  kingdom  of  God,"  he  said,  "shall  be  taken  away  from 
you,  and  shall  be  given  to  a  nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof." 

Matthew  22:1-14 

Just  as  plainly  directed  against  the  wicked  leaders  of  the  people, 
and  against  the  rebellious  nation  itself,  was  the  parable  of  the  Marriage 
of  the  King's  Son.  Matt.  22  :  1-14.  Those  who  were  bidden  to  the 
feast  refused  to  come  in;  but  from  the  highways  and  hedges  the  king's 
house  was  filled.  So  the  covenant  people,  the  Jews,  had  rejected  the 
divine  invitation;  but  the  despised  Gentiles  would  be  received. 

Matthew  22:15-40,  and  Parallels 

The  rulers  w^ould  have  liked  to  put  Jesus  to  death  at  once;  but  they 
still  feared  the  people.  So  they  adopted  the  underhand  method  of 
trying  to  catch  him  in  his  speech.    First  came  the  Pharisees  and  the 


88  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 


Herodians,  the  latter  being  the  partisans  of  the  Herodian  dynasty, 
with  their  adroit  question  about  giving  tribute  to  Csesar,  Matt.  22  : 
15-22,  and  parallels;  then  the  Sadducees,  the  worldly  aristocracy, 
who  did  not  believe  in  the  resurrection,  with  their  attempt  to  make 
the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  ridiculous,  vs.  23-33,  and  parallels; 
then  an  individual  Pharisee  with  his  question  about  the  greatest  com- 
mandment in  the  law.  Vs.  24-40,  and  parallels.  Jesus  had  a  won- 
derful, profound  answer  for  them  all.  But  only  the  last  inquirer  seems 
to  have  been  at  all  willing  to  learn.  *'Thou  art  not  far,"  Jesus  said  to 
him,  "from  the  kingdom  of  God."    Mark  12  :  34. 

Matthew  22:41-46,  and  Parallels 

Then,  after  all  the  questions  which  had  been  put  to  him,  our  Lord 
put  one  question  in  turn.  "David  himself,"  he  said  in  effect,  "calls 
the  Messiah  Lord;  how  is  the  Messiah,  then,  David's  son?"  In  this 
way  Jesus  was  presenting  to  the  people  a  higher  conception  of  Messiah- 
ship  than  that  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to  hold.  The  Messiah 
was  indeed  David's  Son,  but  he  was  not  only  David's  Son.  Matt. 
22  :  41-46,  and  parallels. 

Apparently  on  the  same  day,  our  Lord  called  attention  to  the  poor 
widow  who  was  casting  her  mite  into  the  collection  box.  A  gift,  he 
said,  is  measured  in  the  estimation  of  God  not  by  its  amount,  but  by 
the  sacrifice  which  it  means  to  the  giver.    Mark  12  :  41-44,  and  parallel. 

Matthew,  Chapter  23 

Finally,  on  the  same  memorable  Tuesday,  our  Lord  denounced 
openly  the  formalism  and  hypocrisy  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees. 
Matt.,  ch.  23.  It  was  also  perhaps  on  the  same  day  that  certain  Greeks 
desired  to  see  Jesus,  John  12  :  20,  21— a  foretaste  of  that  entrance  of 
Gentiles  into  the  Church  which  was  to  come  after  the  resurrection. 
We  are  not  told  exactly  how  Jesus  received  the  Greeks,  but  the  im- 
portance of  the  moment  was  marked  by  a  voice  from  heaven  which 
came  as  a  divine  confirmation  of  Jesus'  message. 

Matthew,  Chapters  24,  25 

When  Jesus,  on  the  same  day,  had  gone  out  of  the  Temple  and  had 
ascended  to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  a  hill  which  lay  on  the  way  to  Bethany, 
he  taught  his  disciples  about  the  coming  destruction  of  the  Temple 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  89 

and  also  about  the  end  of  the  world.  Matt.,  ch.  24,  and  parallels. 
The  time  of  the  end  of  the  world,  he  said,  is  unknown  to  all  except 
God,  and  in  expectation  of  it  men  should  always  be  watchful.  This 
duty  of  watchfulness  he  illustrated  by  the  parables  of  the  Ten  Virgins, 
Matt.  25  :  1-13,  and  of  the  Talents.  Vs.  14-30.  Then  our  Lord  drew 
a  great  picture  of  the  last  awful  judgment  of  God,  when  the  wicked 
shall  be  separated  from  the  good.    Vs.  31^6. 

QUESTIONS  ON   LESSON  XI 

1.  Where  was  the   Mount  of  Olives?     Describe  the  route  between 

Bethany  and  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem. 

2.  Compare  the  two  occasions  when  Jesus  cleansed  the  Temple. 

3.  On  what  occasions  during  his  ministry  did  Jesus  speak  about  John 

the  Baptist? 

4.  Give  a  full  account  of  the  questions  which  were  put  to  Jesus  on 

the  Tuesday  of  the  last  week,  and  of  the  answers  of  Jesus. 

5.  What  were  the  "woes"  which  Jesus  pronounced  against  the  scribes 

and  Pharisees? 

6.  What  did  Jesus  say  after  the  Gentiles  came  to  seek  him? 


LESSON  XII 
The  Crucifixion 

Matthew  26:1-5,  14-16,  and  Parallels 

On  the  Wednesday  of  the  week  before  the  crucifixion,  the  chief  priests 
and  elders  of  the  Jews  took  counsel  how  they  might  put  Jesus  to  death. 
The  difficulty  was  that  if  they  arrested  so  popular  a  teacher  in  the 
midst  of  the  crowds  who  had  come  to  Jerusalem  for  the  approaching 
feast  of  the  passover,  there  would  be  a  tumult.  At  first,  therefore,  the 
enemies  of  Jesus  thought  that  they  might  have  to  wait  until  the 
passover  was  over.  But  they  were  helped  out  of  their  difficulty  by 
one  of  Jesus'  own  friends.  Judas  Iscariot,  one  of  the  twelve  apostles, 
proved  to  be  a  traitor.  He  received  a  promise  of  thirty  pieces  of  silver, 
and  watched  for  a  time  when  Jesus  would  be  away  from  the  crowds 
so  that  he  could  be  delivered  quietly  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies 
Matt.  26  :  1-5,  14-16,  and  parallels. 


90  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 


Matthew  26: 17-19,  and  Parallels 

Meanwhile,  on  Thursday,  Jesus  arranged  for  the  celebration  of  the 
passover  in  company  with  the  apostles.  The  passover  feast  com- 
memorated the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  especially  the  pass- 
ing over  of  Israel's  first-born  when  the  first-born  sons  of  the  Egyptians 
were  slain.  The  feast  was  opened  on  the  evening  of  Nisan  14,  Nisan 
being  a  spring  month,  and  the  first  month  of  the  Jewish  year.  Accord- 
ing to  Jewish  reckoning,  the  evening  of  Nisan  14  constituted  the  begin- 
ning of  Nisan  15.  Starting  from  that  time,  the  feast  continued  for 
seven  days,  no  unleavened  bread  being  used  within  that  period.  The 
first  and  most  solemn  act  of  the  whole  feast  was  the  eating  of  the 
paschal  lamb  on  the  evening  of  Nisan  14. 

This  passover  supper  was  celebrated  by  Jesus  and  the  apostles  on 
Thursday  evening,  Nisan  14.  And  the  feast  was  to  be  continued  into 
the  Christian  era.  The  symbols  were  changed;  bread  and  wine  were 
to  be  used  instead  of  the  paschal  lamb.  But  the  fundamental  meaning 
of  the  feast  remained  the  same;  both  the  passover  and  the  Lord's 
Supper  had  reference  to  the  atoning  death  of  Christ.  The  paschal 
lamb  prefigured  the  Lamb  of  God  who  was  to  die  for  the  sins  of  the 
world;  the  bread  and  wine  also  symbolized  the  body  of  Christ  broken 
for  us  and  the  blood  of  Christ  poured  out  for  the  remission  of  our  sins. 
Thus  what  the  passover  symbolized  by  way  of  prophecy  is  symbolized 
in  the  Lord's  Supper  by  way  of  commemoration.  And  on  that  last 
evening  our  Lord  changed  the  symbols  in  order  to  suit  the  new  dis- 
pensation when,  since  the  Lamb  of  God  had  once  been  offered  up, 
other  sacrifices  should  be  no  more. 

Matthew  26:20-35,  and  Parallels 

Jesus  gathered  with  his  apostles  for  the  feast  in  an  upper  room. 
Matt.  26  :  20,  and  parallels.  Then,  lamentably  enough,  there  was  a 
strife  among  the  apostles  as  to  who  should  be  the  greatest.  Luke 
22  :  24-30.  As  a  rebuke  of  all  such  inordinate  ambitions  our  Lord 
gave  an  example  of  humility  by  washing  the  feet  of  his  disciples.  John 
13  : 1-20.  The  traitor,  Judas  Iscariot,  then  left  the  apostolic  company, 
John  13  :  21-35,  and  parallels,  and  the  Lord's  Supper  was  instituted. 
I  Cor.  11  :  23-25;  Matt.  26  :  26-29,  and  parallels.  Then  the  denial 
of  Peter  was  foretold;  before  the  cock  should  crow  twice  Peter  would 
deny  his  Lord  three  times. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  91 

John,  Chapters  14  to  17 

Then  followed  some  of  the  most  precious  teaching  of  Jesus — teach- 
ing which  is  preserved  only  in  the  Gospel  According  to  John.  Chs. 
14  to  17.  Our  Lord  spoke  of  the  mission  which  he  had  come  into  the 
world  to  fulfill  and  of  the  mission  which  his  apostles  were  to  fulfill 
through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  meaning  of  Jesus'  redeeming 
work  could  not  fully  be  explained  until  it  had  been  accomplished. 
And  it  was  to  be  explained  by  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  through  the 

apostles. 

Matthew  26:36-46,  and  Parallels 

After  they  had  sung  a  hymn,  our  Lord  went  out  with  the  eleven 
apostles  to  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  outside  of  Jerusalem,  on  the 
slopes  of  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Matt.  26  :  36-46,  and  parallels. 
There  he  sought  strength  in  prayer  for  the  approaching  hour  when 
he  was  to  bear  the  penalty  of  our  sins.  The  disciples  were  no  help  to 
him  in  his  agony;  Peter  and  James  and  John  slept  while  he  prayed. 
But  God  the  Father  heard  his  prayer. 

Matthew  26:47  to  27:1 

Soon  the  traitor  came  with  the  Temple  guard,  and  Jesus  was  arrested, 
Matt.  26  :  47-56,  and  parallels.  On  the  same  evening  there  was  an 
informal  hearing  of  the  Prisoner  in  the  house  of  Annas,  the  father-in- 
law  of  Caiaphas,  the  high  priest.  Matt.  26  :  57,  58,  69-75,  and  paral- 
lels. Meanwhile  Peter  and  "another  disciple,"  who  was  no  doubt 
John  the  son  of  Zebedee,  the  writer  of  the  Fourth  Gospel,  had  entered 
into  the  house.    There  Peter  denied  his  Lord. 

The  next  morning  there  was  a  more  formal  meeting  of  the  sanhedrin, 
the  highest  court  of  the  Jews.  Luke  22  :  66-71,  and  parallels.  This 
meeting  was  intended  to  confirm  the  results  of  the  informal  hearing 
in  the  house  of  Annas.  But  both  meetings  were  little  more  than  a 
form.  The  court  had  really  decided  the  question  beforehand;  it  had 
determined  to  bring  Jesus  by  any  means,  lawful  or  otherwise,  to  his 
death.  When  faced  by  his  enemies,  our  Lord  declared  plainly  that 
he  was  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God.  That  answer  was  enough  to 
satisfy  the  accusers.    Jesus  was  judged  guilty  of  blasphemy. 

Matthew  27:2-56,  and  Parallels 

But  the  sanhedrin  did  not  possess  the  power  of  life  and  death.  Before 
Jesus  could  be  executed,  therefore,  the  findings  of  the  sanhedrin  had 


92  TEACHING  THE   TEACHER 

to  be  confirmed  by  Pilate,  the  Roman  procurator.  And  at  first  Pilate 
was  recalcitrant  to  the  Jews'  demands;  he  was  not  able  to  find  in  Jesus 
any  cause  of  death.  John  18  :  28-38,  and  parallels.  In  his  perplexity, 
Pilate  sent  the  prisoner  to  be  examined  by  Herod  Antipas,  the  tetrarch 
of  Galilee,  who  was  at  the  time  in  Jerusalem.  Luke  23  : 6-12.  But 
this  hearing  also  was  without  decisive  result. 

At  last  Pilate  yielded,  against  his  better  judgment,  to  the  importunity 
of  the  Jewish  leaders  and  the  mad  shouts  of  the  crowds,  who  had  turned 
now  against  the  One  whom  formerly  they  had  honored.  Matt.  27  : 
15-30,  and  parallels.  Pilate  delivered  Jesus  up  to  the  will  of  the  Jews. 
Before  the  execution,  however,  the  Prisoner  was  cruelly  scourged 
and  mocked  by  the  Roman  soldiers.  Then  when  a  last  effort  of  Pilate 
had  failed  to  placate  the  wrath  of  Jesus'  enemies,  John  19  :  4-16,  our 
Lord  was  finally  taken  out  of  the  city  to  be  crucified.  Luke  23  :  26-33, 
and  parallels. 

The  Prisoner  at  first  was  compelled  to  bear  the  cross  on  which  he 
was  to  be  put  to  death,  but  when  his  strength  gave  way  a  certain  Simon 
of  Gyrene  was  pressed  into  service.  A  crowd  of  people  from  Jerusalem 
followed  the  Prisoner,  and  especially  a  number  of  women  who  lamented. 
At  last  the  place  of  execution  was  reached.  It  was  called  "Golgotha," 
or  according  to  the  Latin  translation  of  the  name,  "Calvary."  There 
they  crucified  our  Lord.    Matt.  27  :  33-56,  and  parallels. 

With  him  were  crucified  two  thieves,  of  whom  one  repented  at  the 
last  hour,  and  received  salvation.  A  number  of  sayings  which  Jesus 
uttered  on  the  cross  are  recorded  in  the  Gospels.  At  the  moment  of 
death,  he  cried,  "It  is  finished."  John  19  :  30.  The  meaning  of  that 
saying  is  plain.  The  work  for  which  our  Lord  came  into  the  world 
at  last  was  done.  The  Lord  of  glory  had  died  to  wash  away  the  sins 
of  all  believers.  The  just  penalty  of  sin  had  been  borne  by  the  One 
who  knew  no  sin. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XII 

1.  Summarize  the  teaching  of  Jesus  on  the  last  evening  before  the 

crucifixion. 

2.  What  happened  in  Gethsemane? 

3.  Describe  the  trial  of  Jesus  before  the  sanhedrin  and  before  Pilate. 

4.  Why  did  the  Jewish  leaders  put  Jesus  to  death?    Why  did  Jesus 

consent  to  die? 

5.  Give  an  account  of  the  crucifixion  of  our  Lord. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  93 


LESSON  XIII 

The  Resurrection 

The  death  of  Christ  was  the  greatest  event  that  history  has  ever 
seen.  By  that  event  the  grace  of  God  triumphed  over  sin,  and  a  lost 
world  was  redeemed.  Apart  from  Christ  we  all  deserve  eternal  death. 
But  the  Lord  of  glory,  on  Calvary,  bore  the  guilt  which  belonged  to 
us,  and  made  us  children  of  God. 

So  great  an  event  was  accomplished  without  flare  of  heavenly 
trumpets  or  blazing  of  heavenly  light.  To  many,  the  death  of  Christ 
seemed  to  be  merely  the  execution  of  a  criminal.  But  there  were  not 
wanting  some  strange  phenomena  which  marked  the  greatness  of  the 
event.  From  twelve  o'clock  on  the  day  of  the  crucifixion  there  was 
darkness  until  three  o'clock,  when  Jesus  died.  Then  the  veil  of  the 
Temple  was  rent,  there  was  an  earthquake,  and  graves  were  opened. 
Thus  was  nature  made  to  recognize  the  suffering  and  the  triumph  of 
her  Lord. 

After  Jesus  had  died,  his  side  was  pierced  by  one  of  the  soldiers 
whom  Pilate  had  sent  at  the  instance  of  the  Jews  in  order  that  those 
who  had  been  crucified  should  be  killed  and  their  bodies  removed 
before  the  Sabbath.  From  the  body  of  Jesus  there  came  out  blood 
and  water.  The  event  was  witnessed  by  John  the  son  of  Zebedee, 
the  writer  of  the  Fourth  Gospel.    John  19  :  31-42. 

Matthew  27:57-66 

Then,  in  the  late  afternoon  of  the  same  day  Joseph  of  Arimathea, 
a  secret  disciple  of  Jesus,  removed  our  Lord's  body  from  the  cross 
and  placed  it  in  a  new  tomb.  Mark  15  :  42-46,  and  parallels.  Another 
secret  disciple,  or  half -disciple,  Nicodemus,  came  also  to  anoint  the  body. 
John  19  :  39.  Certain  women  also  came  to  see  where  Jesus  was  laid. 
Luke  23  :  55,  56,  and  parallels.  The  chief  priests  and  Pharisees,  on 
the  other  hand,  obtained  a  guard  from  Pilate,  to  watch  the  tomb, 
lest  the  disciples  of  Jesus  should  steal  the  body  of  Jesus  away  and 
say  that  he  had  risen  from  the  dead.    Matt.  27  :  62-66. 

Matthew  28:2-4,  11-15 

The  next  day  was  Saturday,  the  Old  Testament  Sabbath.  The 
friends  of  Jesus  rested  on  that  day.  But  very  early  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, the  women  started  to  the  tomb  bearing  spices  in  order  to  anoint 


94  TEACHING   THE    TEACHEB 

the  body.  But  before  they  arrived,  our  Lord  had  already  risen 
from  the  dead.  There  had  been  an  earthquake,  an  angel  had  rolled 
away  the  stone  from  the  sepulcher,  and  our  Lord  himseK  had  risen. 
At  the  sight  of  the  angel,  the  soldiers  of  the  guard,  in  their  fear,  "be- 
came as  dead  men."  Matt.  28  :  2-4.  All  that  they  could  do  was  to 
report  the  event  to  the  chief  priests  who  had  sent  them.    Vs.  11-15. 

Matthew  28: 1,  and  Parallels ;  John  20:2; 
Matthew  28:5-10,  and  Parallels 

Then  the  women  arrived  at  the  tomb,  and  found  it  empty.  Matt. 
28  : 1,  and  parallels.  One  of  them,  Mary  Magdalene,  went  back  to 
tell  Peter  and  John.  John  20  : 2.  The  others  remained  at  the  tomb, 
and  there  saw  two  angels  who  announced  to  them  that  Jesus  was 
risen  from  the  dead.  On  their  way  back  to  the  city  Jesus  himself 
met  them,  and  they  fell  down,  grasped  his  feet,  and  worshiped  him. 
Matt.  28  :  5-10,  and  parallels. 

John  20:3-18 

Meanwhile,  at  the  message  of  Mary  Magdalene,  Peter  and  John 
ran  to  the  tomb,  found  it  empty,  and  believed  that  Jesus  really  was 
risen.  John  20  : 3-10.  But  Mary  Magdalene,  after  they  had  gone, 
stood  weeping  at  the  tomb;  she  supposed  that  some  one  had  taken 
the  body  of  her  Lord  away.  Then  Jesus  himself  came  to  her,  her 
sorrow  was  changed  into  joy,  and  she  joined  her  voice  to  that  of  the 
other  women  who  told  the  disciples  of  the  glad  event.    Vs.  11-18. 

I  Corinthians  15:5;Luke  24: 13-49; John  20:19-23 

Thus  far,  Jesus  himself  had  been  seen  only  by  the  women.  But 
now  he  appeared  to  Peter,  I  Cor.  15  :  5;  Luke  24  :  34,  and  to  two 
of  the  disciples  who  were  walking  to  the  village  of  Emmaus.  At  first 
the  two  disciples  did  not  know  him;  but  they  recognized  him  at  Emmaus 
when  he  broke  the  bread.  Then,  on  the  evening  of  the  same  Sunday, 
he  appeared  to  the  apostles  in  Jerusalem.  I  Cor.  15  :  5;  Luke  24  : 
36-49;  John  20  :  19-23.  All  doubts  were  removed  when  he  showed 
them  the  wounds  in  his  hands  and  his  side,  and  partook  of  food  in 
their  presence.  Then  he  interpreted  the  Scriptures  to  them,  as  he 
had  done  to  the  two  disciples  on  the  walk  to  Emmaus,  showing  them 
that  it  was  necessary  that  the  Messiah  should  suffer.  Finally  he 
breathed  upon  them,  and  said,  "Receive  ye  the  Holy  Spirit." 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  95 


John  20:24-29 

Thomas,  one  of  the  apostles,  who  had  been  absent  from  this  meet- 
ing with  the  risen  Lord,  refused  to  beheve  at  the  mere  word  of  the 
others.  But  Jesus  dealt  very  graciously  with  the  doubting  disciple. 
Again,  one  week  later,  he  came  to  the  apostles,  the  doors  of  the  room 
being  shut,  and  presented  to  Thomas  his  hands  and  his  side.  All 
doubts  now  melted  away  in  the  joy  of  meeting  with  the  risen  Lord. 
Thomas  answered  and  said  unto  him,  "My  Lord  and  my  God."  John 
20  :  24-29. 

John  21:1-24;  I  Corinthians  15:6;  Matthew  28:16-20 

The  apostles  then  went  back  to  Galilee  in  accordance  with  Jesus' 
command,  and  in  Galilee  also  Jesus  appeared  to  them.  First  he 
appeared  to  seven  of  the  disciples  on  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 
Among  the  seven  was  John  the  son  of  Zebedee,  who  has  given  an 
account  of  the  event  in  his  Gospel.  John  21  :  1-24.  Then  there  was 
a  great  appearance  of  Jesus  on  a  mountain.  At  that  time,  apparently, 
not  only  the  eleven  apostles  were  present,  but  also  five  hundred  other 
disciples.  I  Cor.  15  :  6;  Matt.  28  :  16-20.  On  the  mountain  Jesus 
instituted  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  and  gave  his  disciples  the  Great 
Commission  to  make  disciples  of  all  nations.  The  execution  of  that 
commission  has  sometimes  been  attended  with  discouragements.  But 
the  risen  Lord  promised  always  to  be  with  his  Church. 

I  Corinthians  15:  7;  Acts  1: 1-11 

After  the  appearances  in  Galilee,  the  apostles  returned  to  Jerusalem. 
It  was  no  doubt  in  Jerusalem  that  Jesus  appeared  to  James,  his  own 
brother,  I  Cor.  1.5  :  7,  who  during  the  earthly  ministry  had  not  believed 
on  him.  Other  appearances  also  occurred  there.  At  one  or  more  of 
these  appearances  Jesus  commanded  the  apostles  to  wait  in  Jerusalem 
until  the  Holy  Spirit  should  come  upon  them.  Then,  said  Jesus,  they 
were  to  be  witnesses  of  him  "both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Juda?a  and 
Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."  Acts  1  :  8. 
Finally,  forty  days  after  the  resurrection,  Jesus  led  his  disciples  out 
to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  on  the  way  to  Bethany,  and  there  he  was 
taken  from  them  in  a  cloud  into  heaven.  The  disciples  were  saddened 
and  bewildered  by  the  departure  of  their  Lord.  But  their  sadness 
was  soon  turned  into  joy.  "Two  men  stood  by  them  in  white  apparel; 
who  also  said,  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  looking  into  heaven? 


96  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

this  Jesus,  who  was  received  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come 
in  like  manner  as  ye  beheld  him  going  into  heaven."  Acts  1  :  10,  11. 
The  disciples  went  then  into  the  city,  where  they  were  constantly  in 
the  Temple,  praising  God. 

QUESTIONS  ON   LESSON   XIII 

1.  Describe  the  burial  of  Jesus.     How  long  did  his  body  rest  in  the 

tomb? 

2.  Enumerate  the  persons  who  saw  the  empty  tomb. 

3.  Enumerate,  so  far  as  the  facts  are  known,  the  persons  who  saw 

Jesus  after  the  resurrection. 

4.  In  what  books  of  the  New  Testament  are  the  facts  about  the  resur- 

rection mentioned? 

5.  What  is  the  importance  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  for  our  Christian 

faith? 

6.  Describe  the  change  which  the  resurrection  produced  in  the  early 

disciples  of  Jesus. 

LESSON  XIV 
The  Beginnings  of  the  Christian  Church 

The  Christian  Church  is  founded  on  the  fact  of  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus;  if  that  fact  had  not  occurred  there  would  be  no  Church  to-day. 
The  disciples  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  were  evidently  far  inferior  to  him 
in  spiritual  discernment  and  in  courage.  Evidently  they  could  not 
hope  to  succeed  if  he  had  failed.  And  with  his  death  what  little 
strength  they  may  have  had  before  was  utterly  destroyed.  In  the 
hour  of  his  trial  they  had  deserted  him  in  cowardly  flight.  And  when 
he  was  taken  from  them  by  a  shameful  death,  they  were  in  despair. 
Never  did  a  movement  seem  to  be  more  hopelessly  dead. 

But  then  the  surprising  thing  occurred.  Those  same  weak,  dis- 
couraged men  began,  in  a  few  days,  in  Jerusalem,  the  very  scene  of 
their  disgrace,  a  spiritual  movement  the  like  of  which  the  world  has 
never  seen.  What  produced  the  wonderful  change?  What  was  it 
that  transformed  those  weak,  discouraged  men  into  the  spiritual 
conquerors  of  the  world? 

The  answer  of  those  men  themselves  was  plain.  Their  despair, 
they  said,  gave  way  to  triumphant  joy  because  the  Lord  Jesus  had 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  97 

risen  from  the  dead,  and  because  they  were  convinced  of  his  resur- 
rection by  the  empty  tomb  and  by  the  appearances  of  Jesus  himself. 
No  other  real  explanation  has  yet  been  discovered  to  account  for  the 
sudden  transformation  of  the  despair  of  the  disciples  into  triumphant 
joy.  The  very  existence  of  the  Christian  Church  itself,  therefore, 
is  the  strongest  testimony  to  the  resurrection;  for  without  the  resur- 
rection the  Church  could  never  have  come  into  being. 

Acts  1:12-26 

After  the  ascension  of  Jesus,  which  was  studied  in  the  last  lesson, 
the  apostles  returned  to  Jerusalem,  and  obeyed  the  command  of  Jesus 
by  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  the  period  of  wait- 
ing was  not  a  period  of  idleness;  it  was  spent,  on  the  contrary,  in  prais- 
ing God  and  in  prayer.  One  definite  action  was  taken — the  place  of 
Judas,  the  traitor,  who  had  killed  himself  in  his  remorse,  was  filled 
by  the  choice  of  Matthias.  Acts  1  :  15-26.  At  that  time,  certain 
women  and  a  number  of  other  disciples  were  gathered  together  with 
the  apostles,  making  a  total  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons. 
It  was  upon  that  little  company  of  prajang  disciples,  or  rather  upon 
the  promise  of  Jesus  which  had  been  made  to  them,  that  the  hope  of 
the  world  was  based. 

Acts,  Chapter  2 

At  last,  at  the  feast  of  Pentecost,  fifty  days  after  the  passover,  the 
promise  of  Jesus  was  fulfilled;  the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon  the  disciples 
to  fit  them  for  the  evangelization  of  the  world.  Acts  2  :  1-13.  They 
were  all  together  in  one  place;  there  was  a  sound  as  of  a  rushing,  mighty 
wind;  cloven  tongues,  like  tongues  of  fire,  sat  upon  each  one  of  them; 
they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  began  to  speak  with  other 
languages  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance.  When  the  crowd  came 
together  to  see  the  wonderful  thing  that  had  happened,  Peter  preached 
the  first  sermon  of  the  Christian  Church.  Vs.  14-36.  At  the  preach- 
ing of  Peter  three  thousand  persons  were  converted;  the  campaign 
of  world  conquest  had  begun.    Vs.  37-42. 

The  campaign  from  the  beginning  was  a  campaign  of  witnessing, 
in  accordance  with  Jesus'  command.  Acts  1  : 8.  The  Christian 
Church  was  to  conquer  the  world,  not  by  exhorting  men  to  live  a  cer- 
tain kind  of  Hfe,  but  by  bringing  them  a  piece  of  news.  The  Son  of 
God,  said  the  Christian  missionaries,  died  on  the  cross  and  then  rose 
again.    That  was  the  good  news  that  conquered  the  world.    Christianity 


98  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

from  the  beginning  was  a  way  of  life,  but  it  was  a  way  of  life  founded 
upon  a  piece  of  news,  a  way  of  life  founded  upon  historical  facts.  The 
meaning  of  the  facts  was  not  revealed  all  at  once,  but  it  was  revealed 
in  part  from  the  very  beginning,  and  throughout  the  Apostolic  Age 
the  revelation  came  in  greater  and  greater  fullness,  especially  through 
the  instrumentality  of  Paul. 

The  life  of  the  Early  Church  in  Jerusalem  was  in  some  respects  like 
that  of  the  Jews.  The  disciples  continued  to  observe  the  Jewish  fasts 
and  feasts  and  were  constantly  in  the  Temple.  But  a  new  joy  animated 
the  company  of  believers.  Their  Lord  was  indeed  taken  from  them 
for  a  time,  and  they  did  not  know  when  he  would  return,  but  mean- 
while he  was  present  with  them  through  his  Spirit,  and  already  he 
had  saved  them  from  their  sins. 

Even  in  external  observances  the  believers  were  distinguished  from 
the  rest  of  the  Jews.  Entrance  into  their  company  was  marked  by 
the  sacrament  of  baptism,  which  signified  the  washing  away  of  sin; 
and  their  continued  fellowship  with  one  another  and  with  the  risen 
Lord  found  expression  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  which 
commemorated  the  atoning  death  of  Jesus.  There  were  also  common 
meals.  And  those  who  had  property  devoted  it,  in  a  purely  voluntary 
way,  to  the  needs  of  their  poorer  brethren.  The  disciples  attended 
diligently,  moreover,  to  the  teaching  of  the  apostles,  and  engaged 
constantly  in  prayer. 

Acts,  Chapter  3 

The  preaching  of  the  apostles  in  Jerusalem  was  authenticated  by 
miracles.  One  notable  miracle  is  narrated  in  detail  in  the  book  of 
The  Acts.  Ch.  3.  As  Peter  and  John  were  going  up  into  the  Temple 
at  the  hour  of  prayer,  they  healed  a  lame  beggar,  who  was  in  the  habit 
of  sitting  at  the  gate.  The  miracle  was  the  means  of  bringing  to  the 
people  something  better  than  bodily  healing;  for  when  the  crowd 
came  together  in  wonder  at  the  healing  of  the  lame  man,  Peter  pro- 
claimed to  them  the  good  news  of  the  salvation  which  Jesus  had 
wrought. 

Acts,  Chapter  4 

The  Sadducees,  the  ruling  class,  being  incensed  at  such  a  proclama- 
tion, laid  hands  upon  the  two  apostles,  and  brought  them  before  the 
sanhedrin.  Acts  4  :  1-22.  But  even  when  Peter  boldly  announced 
to  them  that  the  name  of  that  Jesus  whom  they  had  put  to  death 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  99 

was  the  only  name  which  could  bring  salvation  to  men,  they  w(U'e 
unable  to  do  more  than  warn  the  recalcitrant  preachers.  A  notable 
miracle  had  been  wrought,  and  they  could  not  deny  it.  When  Peter 
and  John  came  again  to  the  company  of  believers,  all  the  company 
united  in  a  glorious  prayer  of  praise.  The  answer  to  the  prayer  was 
plainly  given.  "The  place  was  shaken  wherein  they  were  gathered 
together;  and  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  they  spake 
the  word  of  God  with  boldness." 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XIV 

1.  Show  how  the  Christian  Church  is  founded  upon  the  fact  of  the 

resurrection. 

2.  Describe  the  choice  of  Matthias. 

3.  Who  were  gathered  together  in  the  "upper  room"  in  Jerusalem? 

4.  Describe  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost. 

5.  Was  the  speaking  with  other  tongues  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost 

the  same  as  the  gift  of  tongues  described  in  the  First  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians?    If  not,  what  was  the  difference? 

6.  Why  were  the  Sadducees  opposed  to  the  preaching  of  Peter  and 

John? 

LESSON  XV 
The  First  Persecution 

Acts  5: 1-11 

The  life  of  the  early  Jerusalem  church  was  full  of  a  holy  joy.  But 
even  in  those  first  glorious  days  the  Church  had  to  battle  against 
sin,  and  not  all  of  those  who  desired  to  join  themselves  to  the  disciples 
were  of  true  Christian  life.  One  terrible  judgment  of  God  was  inflicted 
in  order  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  Church.    Acts  5  :  1-11. 

A  certain  Ananias,  with  Sapphira  his  wife,  had  sold  a  possession, 
in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  those  early  days,  and  had  laid  part 
of  the  price  at  the  apostles'  feet  that  it  might  be  distributed  to  the 
poorer  disciples.  Part  of  the  price  was  withheld,  and  yet  Ananias 
and  his  wife  pretended  to  have  given  all.  Ananias  was  not  required 
to  sell  his  field,  or  to  give  all  of  the  price  after  he  had  sold  it.  His 
sin  was  the  sin  of  deceit.  He  had  lied  to  the  Holy  Spirit.  Terrible 
was  the  judgment  of  God;  Ananias  and  Sapphira  were  stricken  down 
dead,  and  great  fear  came  upon  all  who  heard. 


100  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

Acts  5:12-42 

The  apostles  and  the  Church  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the  people — 
a  favor  which  was  mingled  with  awe.  Many  miracles  were  wrought 
by  the  apostles;  multitudes  of  sick  people  were  jbrought  to  be  healed. 

But  the  Sadducees  made  another  attempt  to  put  a  stop  to  the  danger- 
ous movement.  Acts  5  :  17-42.  They  laid  hands  upon  all  the  apostles, 
as  they  had  laid  hands  upon  two  of  them  once  before,  and  put  them 
all  in  prison.  But  in  the  night  the  apostles  were  released  by  an  angel 
of  the  Lord,  and  at  once,  in  obedience  to  the  angel's  command,  went 
and  taught  boldly  in  the  Temple.  When  they  were  arrested  again, 
Peter  said  simply,  "We  must  obey  God  rather  than  men.  The  Jesus 
whom  you  slew  has  been  raised  up  by  God  as  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour, 
and  we  are  witnesses  of  these  things  and  so  is  the  Holy  Spirit."  Vs. 
29-32,  in  substance.  It  was  a  bold  answer,  and  the  sanhedrin  was 
incensed.  But  Gamaliel,  a  Pharisee,  one  of  the  most  noted  of  the 
Jewish  teachers,  advocated  a  policy  of  watchful  waiting.  If  the  new 
movement  were  of  God,  he  said,  there  was  no  use  in  fighting  against 
it;  if  it  were  of  men  it  would  fail  of  itself  as  other  Messianic  move- 
ments had  failed.  The  cautious  policy  prevailed,  so  far  as  any  attempt 
at  inflicting  the  death  penalty  was  concerned.  But  the  apostles  before 
they  were  released  were  scourged.  The  suffering  and  shame  did  not 
prevent  their  preaching.  They  rejoiced  that  they  were  counted  worthy 
to  suffer  dishonor  for  the  name  of  Jesus. 

«  Acts  6: 1-6 

The  early  Jerusalem  church  was  composed  partly  of  Aramaic- 
speaking  Jews  who  had  always  lived  in  Palestine,  and  partly  of  Greek- 
speaking  Jews  who  were  connected  with  the  Judaism  of  the  Dispersion. 
The  latter  class  murmured  because  their  widows  were  neglected  in 
the  daily  ministrations.  In  order  that  the  matter  might  be  attended 
to  without  turning  the  apostles  aside  from  their  work  of  teaching 
and  preaching,  seven  men  were  chosen  to  preside  over  the  distribution 
of  help  to  the  needy  members  of  the  church.  Acts  6  :  1-6.  But  these 
seven  were  no  mere  "business  men."  They  were  "full  of  the  Spirit 
and  of  wisdom,"  and  at  least  two  of  them  became  prominent  in  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel. 

Acts  6:7  to  8:3 

One  of  these  two  was  Stephen,  a  "man  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy 
Spirit."    Stephen  "wrought  great  wonders  and  signs  among  the  people," 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  101 

and  also  preached  in  the  synagogues  which  were  attended  by  certain 
of  the  Greek-speaking  Jews  residing  at  Jerusalem.  By  his  preaching 
he  stirred  up  opposition.  And  the  opposition  was  of  a  new  kind.  Up 
to  that  time  the  objection  to  the  Early  Church  had  come,  principally 
at  least,  from  the  Sadducees.  But  the  Sadducees  were  a  worldly 
aristocracy,  out  of  touch  with  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  in 
their  efforts  against  the  Church  they  had  been  checked  again  and 
again  by  the  popular  favor  which  the  disciples  of  Jesus  enjoyed. 
Now,  however,  that  popular  favor  began  to  wane.  It  became 
evident  that  although  the  disciples  continued  to  observe  the  Jewish 
fasts  and.  feasts,  their  preaching  really  meant  the  beginning  of 
a  new  era.  The  people  were  not  ready  for  such  a  change,  and 
especially  the  leaders  of  the  people,  the  Pharisees,  who,  since  the 
crucifixion  of  Jesus,  had  shown  no  persecuting  zeal,  came  out  in 
active  opposition. 

The  result  was  at  once  evident.  Stephen  was  arrested,  and  was 
charged  with  revolutionary  teaching  about  the  Temple.  The  charge 
was  false;  Stephen  did  not  say  that  the  Temple  worship  should  then 
and  there  be  abandoned  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  But  he  did  pro- 
claim the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  and  the  presence,  in  the  person  of 
Jesus,  of  one  greater  than  Moses.  So,  after  a  great  and  bold  speech 
of  Stephen,  he  was  hurried  out  of  the  city  and  stoned.  As  Stephen 
was  stoned,  he  called  on  Jesus,  saying,  ''Lord  Jesus,  receive 
my  spirit,"  and  then  kneeling  down  he  prayed  for  forgiveness 
of  his  enemies:  ''Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge."  Acts 
6  :  8  to  8  :  3 

Thus  died  the  first  Christian  martyr.  The  Greek  word  ''martyr" 
means  "witness."  Others  had  witnessed  to  the  saving  work  of  Christ 
by  their  words;  Stephen  now  witnessed  also  by  his  death. 

When  Stephen  was  stoned,  the  witnesses  had  laid  ''their  garments 
at  the  feet  of  a  young  man  named  Saul."  Saul  was  to  become  the 
greatest  preacher  of  the  faith  which  then  he  laid  waste.  But  mean- 
while he  was  a  leader  in  a  great  persecution. 

The  persecution  scattered  the  disciples  far  and  wide  from  Jerusalem, 
though  the  apostles  remained.  But  this  scattering  resulted  only  in 
the  wider  spread  of  the  gospel.  Every\vhere  they  went  the  perse- 
cuted disciples  proclaimed  the  faith  for  which  they  suffered.  Thus 
the  very  rage  of  the  enemies  was  an  instrument  in  God's  hand  for 
bringing  the  good  news  of  salvation  to  the  wide  world. 


102  TEACHING   THE   TEACHER 

Acts  8:4-40 

Among  those  who  were  scattered  abroad  by  the  persecution  was 
PhiHp,  one  of  the  seven  men  who  had  been  appointed  to  care  for  the 
ministration  to  the  poor.  This  PhiUp,  who  is  called  "the  evangelist," 
to  distinguish  him  from  the  apostle  of  the  same  name,  went  to  Samaria, 
and  preached  to  the  Samaritans.  It  was  a  step  on  the  way  toward 
a  Gentile  mission,  but  the  Samaritans  themselves  were  not  Gentiles 
but  half-Jews.  When  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  heard  of  the  work  of 
Philip,  they  sent  Peter  and  John  from  among  their  own  number,  and 
through  Peter  and  John  the  Samaritans  received  special  manifesta- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Acts  8  :  4-25.  Then  Philip  went  to  a  desert 
road  leading  from  Jerusalem  to  Gaza.  There  he  preached  the  gospel 
to  an  Ethiopian  treasurer,  who  despite  his  employment  in  a  foreign 
country  may  have  been  of  Jewish  descent.  Vs.  26-40.  Yet  the  preach- 
ing to  him  was  another  preparation  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel  out 
into  the  Gentile  world. 

QUESTIONS  ON   LESSON  XV 

1.  What  was  the  sin  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira?    Was  the  relief  of  the 

needy  in  the  early  Jerusalem  church  what  is  now  called  com- 
munism or  socialism?    If  not,  why  not? 

2.  What  was  the  fundamental  difference  between  the  two  first  im- 

prisonments of  apostles  in  Jerusalem,  and  the  persecution  which 
began  with  the  martyrdom  of  Stephen?  Why  was  the  latter 
more  serious? 

3.  Outline  the  speech  of  Stephen. 

4.  Describe  the  progress  of  the  gospel  in  Samaria. 

LESSON  XVI 
The  Conversion  of  Paul 

The  work  of  the  Early  Church  was  at  first  carried  on  only  among 
the  Jews.  The  Lord  Jesus,  it  is  true,  had  commanded  the  apostles 
to  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,  but  he  had  not  made  it  perfectly 
plain  when  the  Gentile  work  should  begin,  or  on  what  terms  the 
Gentiles  should  l)e  received.  Conceivably,  therefore,  the  early  dis- 
ciples might  have  thought  it  might  be  the  will  of  God  that  all  Israel 
should  first  be  evangelized  before  the  gospel  should  be  brought  to  the 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  103 

other  nations;  and  conceivably  also  the  men  of  the  other  nations, 
when  they  finally  should  receive  the  gospel,  might  be  required  to 
unite  themselves  with  the  people  of  Israel  and  keep  the  Mosaic  Law. 
The  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  required,  therefore,  before  the 
gospel  should  be  offered  freely  to  Gentiles  without  requiring  them  to 
become  Jews. 

But  that  guidance,  in  God's  good  time,  was  plainly  and  gloriously 
given. 

One  of  the  most  important  steps  in  the  preparation  for  the  Gentile 
mission  was  the  calling  of  a  leader.  And  the  leader  whom  God  called 
was  one  upon  whom  human  choice  never  would  have  rested;  for  the 
chosen  leader  was  none  other  than  Saul,  the  bitterest  enemy  of  the 
Church. 

Saul,  whose  Roman  name  was  Paul,  was  born  at  Tarsus,  a  center 
of  Greek  culture,  and  the  chief  city  of  Cilicia,  the  coast  countr}^  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  Asia  Minor,  near  the  northeastern  corner  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea.  In  Tarsus  the  family  of  Paul  belonged  by 
no  means  to  the  humblest  of  the  population,  for  Paul's  father  and 
then  Paul  himself  possessed  Roman  citizenship,  which  in  the  provinces 
of  the  empire  was  a  highly  prized  privilege  possessed  only  by  a  few. 
Thus  by  birth  in  a  Greek  university  city  and  by  possession  of  Roman 
citizenship  Paul  was  connected  with  the  life  of  the  Gentile  world. 
Such  connection  was  not  without  importance  for  his  future  service 
as  apostle  to  the  Gentiles. 

Far  more  important,  however,  was  the  Jewish  element  in  his  prep- 
aration. Although  Paul  no  doubt  spoke  Greek  in  childhood,  he  also 
in  childhood  spoke  Aramaic,  the  language  of  Palestine,  and  his  family 
regarded  themselves  as  being  in  spirit  Jews  of  Palestine  rather  than 
of  the  Dispersion,  Aramaic-speaking  Jews  rather  than  Greek-speaking 
Jews,  "Hebrews"  rather  than  "Hellenists."  Both  in  Tarsus  and  in 
Jerusalem,  moreover,  Paul  was  brought  up  in  the  strictest  sect  of  the 
Pharisees.  Thus  despite  his  birth  in  a  Gentile  city,  Paul  was  not  a 
"hberal  Jew";  he  was  not  inclined  to  break  down  the  separation  be- 
tween Jews  and  Gentiles,  or  relax  the  strict  requirements  of  the  Mosaic 
Law.  On  the  contrary,  his  zeal  for  the  Law  went  beyond  that  of 
many  of  his  contemporaries.  The  fact  is,  of  enormous  importance 
for  the  understanding  of  Paul's  gospel;  for  Paul's  gospel  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith  is  based  not  upon  a  lax  interpretation  of  the  law  of  God, 
but  upon  a  strict  interpretation.     Only,   according  to  that  gospel, 


104  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

Christ  has  paid  the  penalty  of  the  law  once  for  all  on  the  cross.  Ac- 
cording to  Paul,  it  is  because  the  full  penalty  of  the  law  has  been  paid, 
and  not  at  all  because  the  law  is  to  be  taken  lightly,  that  the  Christian 
is  free  from  the  law. 

Acts  9:1-19,  and  Parallels 

Early  in  life  Paul  went  to  Jerusalem,  to  receive  training  under 
Gamaliel,  the  famous  Pharisaic  teacher.  And  in  Jerusalem,  when  he 
had  still  not  reached  middle  age,  he  engaged  bitterly  in  persecution 
of  the  Church.  He  was  filled  with  horror  at  a  blasphemous  sect  that 
proclaimed  a  crucified  malefactor  to  be  the  promised  Eang  of  Israel, 
and  that  tended,  perhaps,  to  break  down  the  permanent  significance 
of  the  law.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  before  he  was  con- 
verted Paul  was  gradually  getting  nearer  to  Christianity.  On  the 
contrary,  he  was  if  anything  getting  further  away,  and  it  was  while 
he  was  on  a  mad  persecuting  expedition  that  his  conversion  finally 
occurred.  • 

The  conversion  of  Paul  was  different  in  one  important  respect  from 
the  conversion  of  ordinary  Christians.  Ordinary  Christians,  like  Paul, 
are  converted  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  is  the  Spirit  of  Jesus.  But  in 
the  case  of  ordinary  Christians  human  instruments  are  used — the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  or  godly  parents,  or  the  like.  In  the  case  of 
Paul,  on  the  other  hand,  no  such  instrument  was  used,  but  the  Lord 
Jesus  himself  appeared  to  Paul  and  brought  him  the  gospel.  Paul  him- 
self says  in  one  of  his  Epistles  that  he  saw  the  Lord.  I  Cor.  9  : 1 ;  15  : 8. 
It  was  that  fact  which  made  Paul,  unlike  ordinary  Christians,  but 
like  Peter  and  the  other  apostles,  an  actual  eyewitness  to  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ. 

A  wonderful  thing,  moreover,  was  the  way  in  which  Jesus  appeared 
to  Paul.  He  might  naturally  have  appeared  to  him  in  anger,  to  con- 
demn him  for  the  persecution  of  the  Church.  Instead  he  appeared  in 
love,  to  receive  him  into  fellowship  and  to  make  him  the  greatest  of 
the  apostles.  That  was  grace — pure  grace,  pure  undeserved  favor. 
It  is  always  a  matter  of  pure  grace  when  a  man  is  saved  by  the  Lord 
Jesus,  but  in  the  case  of  Paul,  the  persecutor,  the  grace  was  wonder- 
fully plain.  Paul  never  forgot  that  grace  of  Christ;  he  never  hated 
anything  so  much  as  the  thought  that  a  man  can  be  saved  by  his  own 
good  works,  or  his  own  character,  or  his  own  obedience  to  God's  com- 
mands.    The  gospel  of  Paul  is  a  proclamation  of  the  grace  of  God. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  105 

Paul  saw  the  Lord  on  the  road  to  Damascus,  where  he  had  been 
intending  to  persecute  the  Church.  Acts  9  :  i-19,  and  parallels. 
As  he  was  nearing  the  city,  suddenly  at  midday  a  bright  light  shone 
around  him  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun.  Those  who  accompanied 
him  remained  speechless,  seeing  the  light  but  not  distinguishing  the 
person,  hearing  a  sound,  but  not  distinguishing  the  words.  Paul, 
on  the  other  hand,  saw  the  Lord  Jesus  and  listened  to  what  Jesus  said. 
Then,  at  the  command  of  Jesus,  he  went  into  Damascus.  For  three 
days  he  was  blind,  then  received  his  sight  through  the  ministrations 
of  Ananias,  an  otherwise  unknown  disciple,  and  was  baptized.  Then 
he  proceeded  to  labor  for  the  Lord  by  whom  he  had  been  saved. 

Soon,  however,  he  went  away  for  a  time  into  Arabia.  Gal.  1  :  17. 
It  is  not  known  how  far  the  journey  took  him  or  how  long  it  lasted, 
except  that  it  lasted  less  than  three  years.  Nothing  is  said,  in  the 
New  Testament,  moreover,  about  what  Paul  did  in  Arabia.  But 
even  if  he  engaged  in  missionary  preaching,  he  also  meditated  on  the 
great  thing  that  God  had  done  for  him;  and  certainly  he  prayed. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XVI 

1.  Where  was  Paul  born?     Find  the  place  on  a  map.     What  sort  of 

city  was  it. 

2.  What  is  known  about  Paul's  boyhood  home,  and  about  his  educa- 

tion?   In  what  books  of  the  New  Testament  is  the  information 
given? 

3.  Why  did  Paul  persecute  the  Church? 

4.  Describe  in  detail  what  the  book  of  The  Acts  says  about  the  con- 

version of  Paul.    Where  does  Paul  mention  the  conversion  in  his 
Epistles? 

5.  How  did  the  conversion  of  Paul  diflFer  from  the  conversion  of  an 

ordinary  Christian?    In  what  particulars  was  it  like  the  conversion 
of  an  ordinary  Christian? 

6.  What  did  Paul  do  after  the  conversion? 


LESSON  XVII 
The  Gospel  Given  to  the  Gentiles 

Saul  of  Tarsus  was  not  only  converted  directly  by  the  Lord  Jesus; 
he  was  also  called  just  as  directly  by  Jesus  to  be  an  apostle,  and  espe- 


106  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

cially  an  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  But  other  instruments  were  also 
used  in  the  beginning  of  the  Gentile  mission.  Even  Peter,  whose  work 
continued  for  a  number  of  years  afterwards  to  be  chiefly  among  the 
Jews,  was  led  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  take  a  notable  step  in  the  offering 
of  the  gospel  freely  to  the  whole  world. 

Acts  9:31-43 

During  the  period  of  peace  which  followed  after  the  persecution 
at  the  time  of  the  death  of  Stephen,  Peter  went  down  to  labor  in  the 
coastal  plain  of  Palestine.  Acts  9  :  31-43.  At  Lydda  he  healed  a 
lame  man,  iEneas;  at  Joppa,  on  the  coast,  he  raised  Dorcas  from  the 
dead.  And  it  was  at  Joppa  that  he  received  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  to  the  reception  of  Gentiles  into  the  Church.    Ch.  10. 

Acts,  Chapter  10 

At  midday  Peter  went  up  upon  the  flat  housetop  to  pray.  There 
he  fell  into  a  trance,  and  saw  a  vessel  like  a  great  sheet  let  down  from 
heaven,  and  in  it  all  kinds  of  animals  which  it  was  forbidden  in  the 
Mosaic  Law  to  use  for  food.  A  voice  came  to  him:  ''Rise,  Peter; 
kill  and  eat.  But  Peter  said.  Not  so.  Lord;  for  I  have  never  eaten 
anything  that  is  common  and  unclean.  And  a  voice  came  unto  him 
again  the  second  time,  What  God  hath  cleansed,  make  not  thou  com- 
mon. And  this  was  done  thrice:  and  straightway  the  vessel  was  re- 
ceived up  into  heaven." 

The  meaning  of  this  vision  was  soon  made  plain.  A  Roman  oflScer, 
Cornelius,  a  devout  Gentile,  living  at  Caesarea,  which  was  a  seaport 
about  thirty  miles  north  of  Joppa,  had  been  commanded  in  a  vision 
to  send  for  Peter.  The  messengers  of  Cornelius  arrived  at  Peter's 
house  just  after  Peter's  vision  was  over.  The  Holy  Spirit  commanded 
Peter  to  go  with  them.  Arriving  at  Caesarea,  the  apostle  went  into 
the  house  where  Cornelius  and  his  friends  were  assembled,  and  there 
proclaimed  to  them  the  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  While  he  was  still 
speaking,  the  Holy  Spirit  fell  upon  all  those  who  were  present,  upon 
the  Gentiles  as  well  as  upon  the  Jews.  Then  said  Peter,  "Can  any 
man  forbid  the  water,  that  these  should  not  be  baptized,  who  have 
received  the  Holy  Spirit  as  well  as  we?"    So  the  Gentiles  were  baptized. 

A  very  important  step  had  been  taken.  Cornelius,  it  is  true,  was  a 
"God-fearer" — that  is,  he  belonged  to  the  class  of  Gentiles  frequently- 
mentioned  in  the  book  of  The  Acts  who  worshiped  the  God  of  Israel 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  107 

and  were  friendly  to  the  Jews.  Nevertheless,  he  was  still  outside  the 
covenant  people,  and  under  the  old  dispensation  he  could  not  be  re- 
ceived into  covenant  privileges  until  he  united  himself  with  the  nation 
by  submitting  himself  to  the  whole  Mosaic  Law.  Yet  now  such  restric- 
tions were  removed  by  the  plain  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  Evi- 
dently an  entirely  new  dispensation  had  begun. 

Acts  11:1-18 

At  Jerusalem  Peter's  strange  action  in  receiving  Gentiles  into  the 
Church  without  requiring  them  to  become  Jews  gave  rise  to  some  dis- 
cussion. Acts  11  :  1-18.  But  the  apostles  had  no  difficulty  in  con- 
vincing the  brethren  of  the  necessity  for  what  he  had  done.  The 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  had  been  perfectly  plain.  When  the 
brethren  heard  what  Peter  said,  ''they  held  their  peace,  and  glorified 
God,  saying,  Then  to  the  Gentiles  also  hath  God  granted  repentance 
unto  Hfe." 

The  freedom  of  the  Gentiles  had  not  yet,  however,  fully  been  re- 
vealed. For  a  time  the  case  of  Cornelius  seems  to  have  been  regarded 
as  exceptional.  The  Holy  Spirit  had  plainly  commanded  Peter  to 
receive  Cornelius  and  his  friends  without  requiring  them  to  be  united 
to  the  people  of  Israel,  but  perhaps  similar  definite  guidance  was 
required  before  others  could  be  received.  The  underlying  reason  for 
Gentile  freedom,  in  other  words,  had  not  yet  fully  been  revealed. 

The  revelation,  however,  was  not  long  delayed;  it  came  especially 
through  the  Apostle  Paul.  But  meanwhile  Paul  was  being  prepared 
for  his  work. 

Acts  9:  19-30,  and  Parallels 

After  the  journey  to  Arabia,  which  was  mentioned  at  the  end  of 
Lesson  XVI,  Paul  returned  to  Damascus,  and  preached  to  the  Jews, 
endeavoring  to  convince  them  that  Jesus  was  really  the  Messiah. 
His  preaching  aroused  opposition,  and  the  Jews,  with  the  help  of  an 
officer  of  King  Aretas  of  Arabia,  had  tried  to  kill  him.  But  the  brethren 
lowered  him  over  the  city  wall  in  a  basket,  and  so  he  escaped  to  Jerusa- 
lem, Acts  9  :  23-25;  II  Cor.  11  :  31-33,  where  he  desired  to  become 
acquainted  with  Peter.  No  doubt  he  then  talked  with  Peter  especially 
about  the  events  of  the  earthly  ministry  of  Jesus  and  the  appearances 
of  the  risen  Christ.  He  also  engaged  in  preaching  to  the  Greek-speaking 
Jews.  But  when  these  Greek-speaking  Jews  sought  to  kill  him,  the 
brethren  sent  him  away  to  Tarsus.     He  was  unwilling  to  go,  being 


108  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

desirous  of  repairing  the  harm  which  he  had  done  to  the  church  at 
Jerusalem;  but  a  definite  command  of  the  Lord  Jesus  sent  him  now 
forth  to  the  country  of  the  Gentiles.  Acts  9  :  26-30;  22  :  17-21;  Gal. 
1  :  18-24.  He  labored  in  or  near  Tarsus,  preaching  the  faith  which 
formerly  he  had  laid  waste. 

Acts  11:19-26 

Meanwhile  an  important  new  step  in  the  progress  of  the  gospel 
into  the  Gentile  world  was  taken  at  Antioch.  Acts  11  :  19-26.  Antioch, 
the  capital  of  the  Roman  province  of  Syria,  was  situated  on  the  Orontes 
River,  near  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  It 
was  the  third  greatest  city  of  the  empire,  ranking  immediately  after 
Rome  and  Alexandria.  And  among  the  great  Gentile  cities  it  was  the 
first  which  was  encountered  on  the  march  of  the  gospel  out  from  Jeru- 
salem to  the  conquest  of  the  world. 

At  Antioch,  certain  unnamed  Jews  of  Cyprus  and  Gyrene,  who  had 
been  scattered  from  Jerusalem  by  the  persecution  at  the  time  of 
Stephen's  death,  took  the  important  step  of  preaching  the  word  of 
God  to  the  Gentiles.  Before,  they  had  spoken  only  to  Jews;  here 
they  spoke  also  to  the  Gentiles.  Gentiles  were  received  no  longer  mere- 
ly in  isolated  cases  like  the  case  of  Cornelius,  but  in  large  numbers.  To 
investigate  what  had  happened,  Barnabas,  an  honorable  member  of  the 
early  Jerusalem  church.  Acts  4  :  36,  37,  was  sent  from  Jerusalem  to 
Antioch.  Barnabas  at  once  recognized  the  hand  of  God,  and  sent  to 
Tarsus  to  seek  Paul.  He  and  Paul  then  labored  abundantly  in  the 
Antioch  church.  At  Antioch  the  disciples  of  Jesus  were  first  called 
"Christians" — no  doubt  by  the  Gentile  population  of  the  city.  The 
fact  is  not  unimportant.  It  shows  that  even  outsiders  had  come  to  see 
that  the  Christian  Church  was  something  distinct  from  Judaism. 
A  distinct  name  had  come  to  be  required. 

QUESTIONS  ON   LESSON  XVII 

1.  Describe  the  conversion  of  Cornelius  in  detail.      What  was  the  im- 

portance of  the  event? 

2.  What  was  the  meaning  of  Peter's  vision  on  the  housetop  at  Joppa? 

3.  What  important  step  was  taken  at  Antioch? 

4.  Trace  the  part  of  Barnabas  in  furthering  the  work  of  Paul. 

5.  Show  how  every  successive  step  in  the  offering  of  the  gospel  to  the 

Gentiles  was  taken  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  109 


LESSON  XVIII 

The    First    Missionary   Journey   and    the    Apostolic 

Council 

Acts  11:27  to  12:25 

After  a  time  of  rapid  growth  in  the  Antioch  church,  a  prophet, 
Agabus  by  name,  came  down  from  Jerusalem  and  prophesied  a  famine. 
The  disciples  determined  to  send  relief  to  their  brethren  in  Jerusalem. 
This  they  did  by  the  instrumentality  of  Barnabas  and  Paul.  Acts 
11  :  27-30. 

Meanwhile  the  Jerusalem  church  had  been  suffering  renewed  perse- 
cution under  Herod  Agrippa  I,  who,  as  a  vassal  of  Rome,  ruled  over 
all  Palestine  from  a.d.  41  to  44.  James  the  son  of  Zebedee,  one  of 
the  apostles,  had  been  put  to  death,  and  Peter  had  escaped  only  b}-^ 
a  wonderful  interposition  of  God,    Acts,  ch.  12. 

Acts,  Chapters  13,  14 

After  Barnabas  and  Paul  had  returned  to  Antioch  from  their  labor 
of  love  in  Jerusalem,  they  were  sent  out,  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  upon  a  mission  to  the  Gentiles,  which  is  called  the  first 
missionary  journey.  Acts,  chs.  13,  14.  This  missionary  journey  led 
first  through  the  island  of  Cyprus,  then,  by  way  of  Perga  in  Pamphylia 
to  Pisidian  Antioch  on  the  central  plateau  of  Asia  Minor. 

At  Pisidian  Antioch,  as  regularly  in  the  cities  that  he  visited,  Paul 
entered  first  into  the  synagogue.  In  accordance  with  the  liberal  Jewish 
custom  of  that  day,  he  was  given  opportunity  to  speak,  as  a  visiting 
teacher.  The  congregation  was  composed  not  only  of  Jews  but  also 
of  Gentiles  who  had  become  interested  in  the  God  of  Israel  and  in  the 
lofty  moralitj''  of  the  Old  Testament  without  definitely  uniting  them- 
selves with  the  people  of  Israel — the  class  of  persons  who  are  called 
in  the  book  of  The  Acts  "they  that  feared  God"  or  the  like.  These 
"God-fearers"  constituted  a  picked  audience;  they  were  just  the  Gentiles 
who  were  most  apt  to  be  won  by  the  new  preaching,  because  in  their 
case  much  of  the  preliminary  instruction  had  been  given.  But  the 
Jews  themselves,  at  Pisidian  Antioch  as  well  as  elsewhere,  were  jealous 
of  the  new  mission  to  the  Gentiles,  which  was  proving  so  much  more 
successful  than  their  own.  Paul  and  Barnabas,  therefore,  were  obliged 
to  give  up  the  work  in  the  synagogue  and  address  themselves  directly 


110  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

to  the  Gentile  population.  So  it  happened  very  frequently  in  the 
cities  that  Paul  visited — at  first  he  preached  to  both  Jews  and  Gentiles 
in  the  synagogues,  and  then  when  the  Jews  drove  him  out  he  was 
obliged  to  preach  to  the  Gentiles  only. 

Being  driven  out  of  Pisidian  Antioch  by  a  persecution  instigated 
by  the  Jews,  Paul  and  Barnabas  went  to  Iconium,  Lystra,  and  Derbe, 
which,  witli  Pisidian  Antioch,  were  in  the  southern  part  of  the  great 
Roman  province  Galatia,  but  not  in  Galatia  proper,  which  lay  farther 
to  the  north.  Then,  turning  back  from  Derbe,  the  missionaries  re- 
visited Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Pisidian  Antioch,  strengthening  the 
disciples  and  appointing  elders;  and  then  returned  to  the  church 
at    Syrian  Antioch  from  which  the  Holy  Spirit  had  sent  them  forth. 

The  Epistle  of  James 

During  the  progress  of  the  Antioch  church  and  of  the  mission  which 
had  proceeded  from  it,  the  church  at  Jerusalem  had  not  been  idle. 
At  the  head  of  it  stood  James,  the  brother  of  Jesus,  who  was  not  one 
of  the  twelve  apostles  and  apparently  during  the  earthly  ministry  of 
Jesus  had  not  been  a  believer,  but  who  had  witnessed  an  appearance 
of  the  risen  Lord.  James  was  apparently  attached  permanently  to  the 
church  at  Jerusalem,  while  the  Twelve  engaged  frequently  in  mis- 
sionary work  elsewhere.  From  this  James  there  has  been  preserved 
in  the  New  Testament  a  letter.  The  Epistle  of  James,  which  is  addressed 
"to  the  twelve  tribes  which  are  of  the  Dispersion."  This  letter  was 
written  at  an  early  time,  perhaps  at  about  the  time  of  the  first  mis- 
sionary journey  of  Paul.  In  the  letter,  James  lays  stress  upon  the 
high  moral  standard  which  ought  to  prevail  in  the  Christian  life,  and 
he  has  sometimes  been  regarded  as  an  advocate  of  "works."  But 
this  judgment  should  not  be  misunderstood.  The  "works"  of  which 
James  is  speaking  are  not  works  which  are  to  be  put  alongside  of  faith 
as  one  of  the  means  by  which  salvation  is  to  be  obtained;  they  are, 
on  the  contrary,  works  which  proceed  from  faith  and  show  that  faith 
is  true  faith.  James  does  not,  therefore,  deny  the  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith  alone.  Only  he  insists  that  true  faith  always  results 
in  good  works.  Paul  meant  exactly  the  same  thing  when  he  spoke  of 
"faith  working  through  love."  Gal.  5:6.  Paul  and  James  use  some- 
what different  language,  but  they  mean  the  same  thing.  Faith,  accord- 
ing to  both  of  them,  involves  receiving  the  power  of  God,  which  then 
results  in  a  life  of  loving  service. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  111 

Acts  15: 1-35;  Galatians  2:1-10 

The  wonderful  success  of  the  first  missionary  journey  of  Paul  and 
Barnabas  caused  great  joy  to  the  Antioch  church.  But  the  joy  was 
soon  marred  by  certain  persons,  commonly  called  "Judaizers,"  who 
came  down  to  Antioch  from  Jerusalem  and  said  that  unless  the  Gentile 
converts  kept,  the  Law  of  Moses  they  could  not  be  saved.  The  demand 
was  directly  contrary  to  the  great  principle  of  justification  by  faith 
alone;  for  it  made  salvation  depend  partly  upon  human  merit.  The 
entire  life  of  the  Church  was  in  danger.  But  Paul,  guided  by  a  revela- 
tion from  God,  determined  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  brethren 
at  Antioch  by  going  up  to  Jerusalem  with  Barnabas  and  certain  others, 
in  order  to  confer  with  the  leaders  of  the  Jerusalem  church.  Paul  did 
not  need  any  authorization  from  those  leaders,  for  he  had  been  com- 
missioned directly  by  Christ;  nor  did  he  need  to  learn  from  them 
anything  about  the  principles  of  the  gospel,  for  the  gospel  had  come  to 
him  through  direct  revelation.  But  he  did  desire  to  receive  from  the 
Jerusalem  leaders,  to  whom  the  Judaizers  falsely  appealed,  some  such 
public  pronouncement  as  would  put  the  Judaizers  clearly  in  the  wrong 
and  so  stop  their  ruination  of  the  Church's  work. 

The  conference  resulted  exactly  as  Paul  desired.  Acts  15  :  1-35; 
Gal.  2  :  1-10.  The  Jerusalem  leaders — James,  the  brother  of  the 
Lord,  Peter,  and  John  the  son  of  Zebedee — recognized  that  they  had 
absolutely  nothing  to  add  to  the  gospel  of  Paul,  because  he  had  been 
commissioned  by  Christ  as  truly  and  as  directly  as  the  original  Twelve. 
Joyfully,  therefore,  they  gave  to  Paul  and  Barnabas  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship.  God  had  worked  for  Paul  among  the  Gentiles  as  truly  as  he 
had  worked  for  Peter  among  the  Jews.  With  regard  to  the  propaganda 
of  the  Judaizers,  the  Jerusalem  church,  after  speeches  by  James  and 
Peter  presenting  the  same  view  as  the  view  of  Paul,  sent  a  letter  to 
the  Gentile  Christians  in  Antioch  and  Syria  and  Cilicia  declaring  them 
to  be  absolutely  free  from  the  Mosaic  Law  as  a  means  of  salvation,  and 
directing  them  to  refrain,  out  of  loving  regard  for  the  Jews  in  the 
several  cities,  from  certain  things  in  the  Gentile  manner  of  life  which 
were  most  abhorrent  to  Jewish  feeling. 

Such  was  the  result  of  the  ''Apostolic  Council,"  which  took  place 
at  about  a.d.  49.  It  was  a  great  victory  for  the  Gentile  mission  and 
for  Paul,  for  it  established  clearly  the  unity  of  all  the  apostles  under 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  No  wonder  the  church  at  Antioch 
rejoiced  when  the  letter  of  the  Jerusalem  church  was  read. 


112  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

QUESTIONS   ON   LESSON   XVIII 

1.  Describe  in  detail  the  release  of  Peter  from  prison  in  the  closing 

days  of  the  reign  of  Herod  Agrippa  I. 

2.  Enumerate  the  visits  of  Paul  to  Jerusalem  which  have  been  studied 

so  far. 

3.  What   happened,  on  the  first  missionary  journey,  at  Paphos?    at 

Perga?  at  Pisidian  Antioch?  at  Lystra? 

4.  Describe  the  Apostolic  Council  in  detail.     What  was  the  meaning 

of  the  letter  which  was  sent  out  from  the  council? 

LESSON  XIX 
The  Second  Missionary  Journey 

The  Apostolic  Council,  which  was  studied  in  the  last  lesson,  was 
an  important  step  in  the  progress  of  Christian  liberty.  By  it  the 
Judaizers  were  definitely  repudiated,  and  salvation  was  based  upon 
faith  alone  apart  from  the  works  of  the  law.  But  many  practical  diffi- 
culties still  remained  to  be  solved. 

Galatians  2: 11-21 

One  such  difficulty  appeared  at  Antioch  soon  after  the  council. 
Gal.  2  :  11-21.  The  council  had  established  the  freedom  of  the  Gentile 
Christians  from  the  Mosaic  Law,  but  it  had  not  been  determined 
that  the  Jewish  Christians  should  give  up  the  Law.  No  doubt  the 
Jewish  Christians  were  inwardly  free  from  the  Law;  they  depended 
for  their  salvation  not  at  all  upon  their  obedience  to  God's  commands 
as  set  forth  in  the  Law  of  Moses,  but  simply  and  solely  upon  the  sav- 
ing work  of  Christ  accepted  by  faith.  But  so  far  as  had  yet  been 
revealed,  it  might  conceivably  be  the  will  of  God  that  they  should 
still  maintain  their  connection  with  Israel  by  observing  the  whole  of 
the  Law  including  even  its  ceremonial  requirements.  In  order,  how- 
ever, that  the  ceremonial  requirements  of  the  Law  might  be  observed, 
the  Jews  had  always  been  accustomed  to  avoid  table  companionship 
with  Gentiles.  What  should  be  done,  therefore,  in  churches  like  the 
church  at  Antioch,  which  were  composed  both  of  Jewish  Christians  and 
of  Gentile  Christians?  How  could  the  Jewish  Christians  in  such  churches 
continue  to  observe  the  ceremonial  law,  and  still  hold  table  com- 
panionship with  their  Gentile  brethren? 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  113 

This  question  faced  the  apostle  Peter  on  a  visit  which  he  made  to 
Antioch  after  the  Apostolic  Council.  At  first  he  answered  the  ques- 
tion in  the  interests  of  Gentile  freedom;  he  allowed  the  unity  of  the 
Church  to  take  precedence  over  the  devotion  of  Jewish  Christians 
to  the  ceremonial  law.  He  held  table  companionship,  therefore,  with 
the  Gentile  Christians,  and  he  did  so  out  of  true  conviction  with  regard 
to  the  new  Christian  freedom.  But  when  certain  men  came  to  Antioch 
from  James,  Peter  was  afraid  to  be  seen  transgressing  the  ceremonial 
law,  and  so  began  to  withdraw  himself  from  table  companionship 
with  his  Gentile  brethren. 

Peter's  action,  because  of  its  inconsistency,  endangered  the  very 
life  of  the  Church.  Peter  had  given  up  the  keeping  of  the  ceremonial 
law  in  order  to  hold  table  companionship  with  the  Gentile  Christians. 
Then  he  had  undertaken  the  keeping  of  the  ceremonial  law  again. 
Might  not  the  Gentile  Christians  be  tempted  to  do  the  same  thing, 
in  order  to  preserve  their  fellowship  with  the  greatest  of  the  original 
apostles?  But  if  the  Gentile  Christians  should  begin  to  keep  the 
ceremonial  law,  they  could  not  fail  to  think  that  the  keeping  of  the  cere- 
monial law  was  somehow  necessary  to  salvation.  And  so  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  Christianity — the  principle  of  salvation  by  Christ 
alone  apart  from  human  merit — would  be  given  up.  The  danger  was 
imminent. 

But  God  had  raised  up  a  man  to  fight  the  battle  of  the  Church. 
Absolutely  regardless  of  personal  considerations,  devoted  solely  to 
the  truth,  the  Apostle  Paul  withstood  Peter  before  the  whole  Church. 
It  is  exceedingly  important  to  observe  that  Paul  did  not  differ  from 
Peter  in  principle;  he  differed  from  him  only  in  practice.  He  said  to 
Peter  in  effect,  ''You  and  I  are  quite  agreed  about  the  principle  of 
justification  by  faith  alone;  why,  therefore,  do  you  belie  your  principles 
by  your  conduct?"  In  the  very  act  of  condemning  the  practice  of 
Peter,  therefore,  Paul  commends  his  principles;  about  the  principles 
of  the  gospel  the  two  chief  apostles  were  fully  agreed.  Undoubtedly 
Peter  was  convinced  by  what  Paul  said;  there  was  no  permanent  dis- 
agreement, even  about  matters  of  practice,  between  Peter  and  Paul. 
Thus  did  the  Spirit  of  God  guide  and  protect  the  Church. 

Acts  15:36  to  18:22 

Soon  afterward  Paul  went  forth  from  Antioch  on  his  "second  mis- 
sionary journey."     Acts   15  :  36   to   18  :  22.     Journeying   with  Silas 


114  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

by  the  land  route  to  Derbe  and  to  Lystra,  where  Timothy  became  his 
associate,  he  then  apparently  went  to  Iconium  and  Pisidian  Antioch 
and  then  northward  into  Galatia  proper,  that  is  "Galatia"  in  the  older 
and  narrower  sense  of  the  term.  Finally  he  went  down  to  Troas,  a 
seaport  on  the  ^Egean  Sea.  At  Troas  he  must  have  been  joined  by 
Luke,  the  author  of  The  Acts,  since  the  narrative  in  Acts  here  begins 
to  be  carried  on  by  the  use  of  the  first  person,  ''we,"  instead  of  "they," 
thus  showing  that  the  author  was  present. 

Setting  sail  from  Troas,  the  apostolic  company  soon  came  to  Philippi 
in  Macedonia,  where  an  important  church  was  founded.  At  last  Paul 
and  Silas  were  imprisoned,  and  although  they  were  released  through 
divine  interposition  and  by  the  second  thought  of  the  city  authorities, 
they  were  requested  by  the  authorities  to  leave  the  city. 

Arriving  at  Thessalonica,  Paul  preached  in  the  synagogue,  and 
founded  an  important  church,  chiefly  composed  of  Gentiles.  But 
after  a  stay  shorter  than  had  been  intended,  persecution  instigated 
by  the  Jews  drove  Paul  out  of  the  city.  He  went  then  to  Athens, 
where  he  preached  not  merely  in  the  synagogue  but  also  directly  to 
the  Gentile  passers-by  in  the  market  place. 

At  Corinth,  the  capital  of  the  Roman  province  Achaia,  embracing 
Greece  proper,  large  numbers  of  converts  were  won,  and  Paul  spent 
about  two  years  in  the  city.  Not  long  after  the  beginning  of  this 
Corinthian  residence,  he  wrote  the  two  Thessalonian  Epistles. 

The  First  and  Second  Epistles 
to  the  Thessalonians 

The  First  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  was  written  just  after  Paul 
had  received  his  first  news  from  the  Thessalonian  church.  He  had 
been  obliged  to  leave  Thessalonica  before  he  had  intended.  Would 
his  work  in  that  city  be  permanent?  Would  the  converts  remain 
faithful  to  Christ?  These  were  serious  questions.  The  Thessalonian 
converts  were  living  in  the  midst  of  a  corrupt  paganism,  and  Paul 
had  not  had  time  to  instruct  them  fully  in  the  things  of  Christ.  Every 
human  probability  was  against  the  maintenance  of  their  Christian 
life.  But  at  last  Paul  received  his  first  news  from  Thessalonica.  And 
the  news  was  good  news.  God  was  watching  over  his  children;  the 
great  wonder  had  been  wrought;  a  true  Christian  church  had  been 
founded  at  Thessalonica.  The  letter  which  Paul  wrote  at  such  a 
time  is  very  naturally  a  simple,  warm  expression  of  gratitude  to  God. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  115 

At  the  same  time,  in  the  letter,  Paul  (comforts  the  Thessalonians  in 
view  of  the  death  of  certain  of  their  number,  gives  instruction  about 
the  second  coming  of  Christ,  and  urges  the  converts  to  live  a  diligent 
and  orderly  life. 

The  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  was  written  very  soon 
after  the  former  Epistle.  It  reiterates  the  teaching  of  I  Thessalonians, 
with  correction  of  a  misunderstanding  which  had  crept  into  the  church 
with  regard  to  the  second  coming  of  Christ. 

QUESTIONS   ON   LESSON   XIX 

1.  What    practical    question    arose    at    Antioch    after    the    Apostolic 

Council? 

2.  How  did  Paul  show  the  agreement  in  principle  between  himself 

and  Peter? 

3.  What  was  the  inconsistency  of  Peter's  action?     Did  Paul  neces- 

sarily condemn  Jewish  Christians  who  continued  to  observe  the 
ceremonial  law?  What  principle  was  at  stake  at  Antioch?  What 
does  Paul  in  his  Epistles  say  about"  Peter  after  this  time?  Was 
there  any  permanent  disagreement? 

4.  Why  did  Paul  separate  from  Barnabas  at  the  begimiing  of  the 

second  missionary  journey?  What  does  Paul  say  afterwards 
about  Barnabas?  Was  there  any  permanent  disagreement  be- 
tween Paul  and  Barnabas  or  between  Paul  and  Mark? 

5.  Describe   what  happened  at  Troas,  Philippi,  Thessalonica,  Berea, 

Athens,  Corinth. 

6.  What  was  the  occasion  for  the  writing  of  I  Thessalonians?  of  II 

Thessalonians? 

LESSON  XX 

The  Third  Missionary  Journey.     The  Epistle  to  the 

Galatians 

At  Corinth,  on  the  second  missionary  journey,  the  Jews  made  charges 
before  the  Roman  proconsul  Gallio  against  Paul.  But  Gallic  dis- 
missed the  charges  as  concerning  only  the  Jewish  Law.  It  was  an 
important  decision.  Judaism  was  tolerated  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
and  if  Christianity  was  regarded  as  a  variety  of  Judaism  it  would 
be  tolerated  too.    Such  was  usually  the  practice  of  the  Roman  authori- 


116  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 


ties  in  the  very  early  days;  the  Roman  authorities  often  protected 
the  Christian  missionaries  against  the  Jews. 

Finally  leaving  Corinth,  Paul  went  by  way  of  Ephesus,  where  he 
made  only  a  brief  stay,  to  Palestine  and  then  back  to  Syrian  Antioch. 


Acts  18:23  to  21:15 

After  having  spent  some  time  at  Syrian  Antioch,  he  started  out 
on  his  third  missionary  journey.  Acts  18  :  23  to  21  :  15.  First  he 
went  through  Asia  Minor  to  Ephesus,  apparently  passing  through 
Galatia  proper  on  his  way.    At  Ephesus  he  spent  about  three  years. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians 

It  was  probably  during  this  Ephesian  residence  that  Paul  wrote 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians;  and  probably  "the  churches  of  Galatia" 
to  which  the  Epistle  is  addressed  were  churches  in  Galatia  proper  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  great  Roman  province  Galatia.  Another 
view  regards  the  Epistle  as  being  addressed  to  the  well-known  churches 
at  Pisidian  Antioch,  Iconiuni,  Lystra,  and  Derbe,  which  were  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Roman  province.  When  this  view  is  adopted, 
the  writing  of  the  Epistle  is  usually  put  at  a  somewhat  earher  time  in 
the  life  of  Paul. 

The  occasion  for  the  writing  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  can 
easily  be  discovered  on  the  basis  of  the  letter  itself.  After  Paul  had 
left  Galatia,  certain  other  teachers  had  come  into  the  country.  These 
teachers  were  men  of  the  Jewish  race,  and  they  are  usually  called 
"Judaizers."  What  they  taught  can  be  established  fairly  well  on  the 
basis  of  Paul's  answer  to  them.  They  agreed  with  Paul  in  believing 
that  Jesus  was  truly  the  Messiah,  and  that  he  had  risen  from  the 
dead.  Apparently  they  had  no  objection  to  Paul's  doctrine  of  the 
deity  of  Christ,  and  they  agreed,  apparently,  that  faith  in  Christ  is 
necessary  to  salvation.  But  they  maintained  that  something  else 
is  also  necessary  to  salvation — namely,  union  with  the  nation  of  Israel 
and  the  keeping  of  the  Mosaic  Law.  The  Judaizers,  then,  maintained 
that  a  man  is  saved  by  faith  and  works;  whereas  Paul  maintained  that 
a  man  is  saved  by  faith  alone. 

The  Galatian  Christians  had  been  impressed  by  what  the  Judaizers 
had  said.  Already  they  had  begun  to  observe  some  of  the  Jewish 
fasts  and  feasts.  And  they  were  on  the  point  of  taking  the  decisive 
step  of  uniting  themselves  definitely  with  the  people  of  Israel  and 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  117 

undertaking  the  observance  of  the  Mosaic  Law.    It  was  to  keep  them 
from  taking  that  decisive  step  that  Paul  wrote  the  Epistle. 

At  first  sight  the  question  at  issue  might  seem  to  have  little  impor- 
tance to-day.  No  one  in  the  Church  nowadays  is.  in  danger  of  uniting 
himself  with  Israel  or  undertaking  to  keep  the  ceremonial  law.  If 
Paul  had  treated  the  question  in  Galatia  in  a  merely  practical  way, 
his  letter  would  be  of  no  value  to  us.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  Paul 
did  not  treat  the  question  in  a  merely  practical  way;  he  treated  it  as  a 
question  of  principle.  He  saw  clearly  that  what  was  really  endangered 
by  the  propaganda  of  the  Judaizers  was  the  great  principle  of  grace; 
the  true  question  was  whether  salvation  is  to  be  earned  partly  by 
what  man  can  do  or  whether  it  is  an  absolutely  free  gift  of  God. 

That  question  is  just  as  important  in  the  modern  Church  as  it  was 
in  Galatia  in  the  first  century.  There  are  many  in  the  modern  Church 
who  maintain  that  salvation  is  obtained  by  character,  or  by*  men's 
own  obedience  to  the  commands  of  Christ,  or  by  men's  own  accept- 
ance of  Christ's  ideal  of  life.  These  are  the  modern  Judaizers.  And 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is  directed  against  them  just  as  much 
as  it  was  directed  against  the  Judaizers  of  long  ago. 

Paul  refuted  the  Judaizers  by  establishing  the  meaning  of  the  cross 
of  Christ.  Salvation,  he  said,  was  obtained  simply  and  solely  by  what 
Christ  did  when  he  died  for  the  sins  of  beUevers.  The  curse  of  God's 
law,  said  Paul,  rests  justly  upon  all  men,  for  all  men  have  sinned. 
That  curse  of  the  law  brings  the  penaltj^  of  death.  But  the  Lord 
Jesus,  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  took  the  penalty  upon  himself  by  dying 
instead  of  us.    We  therefore  go  free. 

Such  is  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  as  preached  by  Paul,  and  as  de- 
fended in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  That  gospel,  Paul  said,  is 
received  by  faith.  Faith  is  not  a  meritorious  act;  it  simply  means 
accepting  what  Christ  has  done.  It  cannot  be  mingled  with  an 
appeal  to  human  merit.  Christ  will  do  everything  or  nothing.  Either 
accept  as  a  free  gift  what  Christ  has  done,  or  else  earn  salvation  by 
perfect  obedience.  The  latter  alternative  is  impossible  because  of  sin; 
the  former,  therefore,  alone  can  make  a  man  right  with  God. 

But  acceptance  of  the  saving  work  of  Christ  means  more  than  salva- 
tion from  the  guilt  of  sin;  it  means  more  than  a  fresh  start  in  God's 
favor.  It  means  also  salvation  from  the  power  of  sin.  All  men, 
according  to  Paul,  are  dead  in  sin.  Salvation,  then,  can  come  only  by  a 
new  creation,  as  Paul  calls  it,  or,  as  it  is  called  elsewhere  in  the  New 


118  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

Testament,  a  new  birth.  That  new  creation  is  wrought  by  the  saving 
work  of  Christ,  and  appHed  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  after  the  new  crea- 
tion has  been  wrought,  there  is  a  new  hf e  on  the  basis  of  it.  In  the  new 
hfe  there  is  still  a  battle  against  sin.  But  the  Christian  has  received 
a  new  power,  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  when  he  yields  him- 
self to  that  new  power,  he  fulfills  in  its  deepest  import  the  law  of  God. 
Only  he  fulfills  it  not  by  obedience  in  his  own  strength  to  a  law  which 
is  outside  of  him,  but  by  yielding  to  a  power  which  God  has  placed  in 
his  heart.  This  new  fulfillment  of  the  law  on  the  part  of  Christians 
is  what  Paul  means  when  he  speaks  of  "faith  working  through  love"; 
for  love  involves  the  fulfillment  of  the  whole  law. 

Such  was  the  gospel  of  Paul  as  it  is  set  forth  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
Galatians.  Paul  had  received  it  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Without 
it  the  Church  is  dead.  It  need  not  be  put  in  long  words,  but  it  must 
be  proclaimed  without  the  slightest  concession  to  human  pride,  if  the 
Church  is  to  be  faithful  to  the  Saviour  who  died.  We  deserved 
eternal  death;  the  Lord  Jesus,  because  he  loved  us,  died  in  our  stead 
— there  is  the  heart  and  core  of  Christianity. 

QUESTIONS  ON   LESSON  XX 

1.  Describe  Paul's  first  visit  to  Corinth. 

2.  Where  did  Paul  go  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  missionary  journey? 

3.  What  was  the  occasion  for  the  writing  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians? 

4.  What  great  principle  is  defended  in  the  Epistle?    What  is  the  mean- 

ing of  the  death  of  Christ?    What  is  the  meaning  of  "justification 
by  faith"? 

5.  Give  an  outline  of  the  Epistle,  showing  the  three  great  divisions. 

6.  Why  does  Paul  give,  in  the  first  part  of  the  Epistle,  a  review  of 

certain  facts  in  his  life? 


LESSON  XXI 

The  Third  Missionary  Journey.    The  Epistles  to  the 
Corinthians  and  to  the  Romans 

Another  Epistle,  in  addition  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  was 
written  by  Paul  at  Ephesus  on  the  third  missionary  journey.  This 
was  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  119 

The  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians 

In  I  Corinthians,  the  details  of  congregational  life  are  more  fully 
discussed  than  in  any  other  of  the  Epistles  of  Paul.  Paul  had  received 
information  about  the  Corinthian  church  partly  through  what  was 
said  by  the  ''household  of  Chloe,"  who  had  come  to  Ephesus  from 
Corinth,  and  partly  by  a  letter  which  the  Corinthian  church  had 
written.  The  information  was  not  all  of  a  favorable  character.  In 
Corinth,  a  Christian  church  was  in  deadly  battle  with  paganism — 
paganism  in  thought  and  paganism  in  life.  But  that  battle  was  fought 
to  a  victorious  conclusion,  through  the  guidance  of  an  inspired  apostle, 
and  through  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  in  the  hearts  of  beHevers. 

First  Paul  dealt  in  his  letter  with  the  parties  in  the  Corinthian 
church.  The  Corinthian  Christians  were  in  the  habit  of  saying,  "I 
am  of  Paul;  and  I  of  Apollos;  and  I  of  Cephas;  and  I  of  Christ,"  I 
Cor.  1  :  12;  they  seem  to  have  been  more  interested  in  the  particular 
form  in  which  the  gospel  message  was  deUvered  than  in  the  message 
itself.  Paul  treated  the  subject  in  a  grand  and  lofty  way.  The  party 
spirit  in  Corinth  was  merely  one  manifestation  of  intellectual  pride. 
In  reply,  the  apostle  directed  his  readers  to  the  true  wisdom.  And  if 
you  would  possess  that  wisdom,  he  said,  give  up  your  quarreling  and 
give  up  your  pride. 

Then  there  was  gross  sin  to  be  dealt  with,  and  a  certain  lordly  in- 
difference to  moral  purity.  In  reply,  Paul  pointed  to  the  true  moral 
implications  of  the  gospel,  and  to  the  law  of  love  which  sometimes, 
as  in  Paul's  own  case,  causes  a  Christian  man  to  give  up  even  privileges 
which  might  be  his  by  right. 

In  chs.  12  to  14  of  the  Epistle,  Paul  dealt  with  the  supernatural 
gifts  of  the  Spirit,  such  as  prophecy  and  speaking  with  tongues.  These 
gifts  were  not  continued  after  the  Apostolic  Age.  But  it  is  important 
for  us  to  know  about  them,  and  the  principles  which  Paul  used  in 
deahng  with  them  are  of  permanent  validity.  The  greatest  principle 
was  the  principle  of  love.  It  is  in  connection  with  the  question  of  gifts 
of  the  Spirit  that  Paul  wrote  his  wonderful  hymn  about  Christian  love. 
Ch.  13. 

Paganism  of  thought  was  creeping  into  the  Corinthian  church  in 
connection  with  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  Paul  dealt  with 
this  question  by  appealing  to  the  plain  historical  evidence  for  the 
resurrection  of  Christ.  That  fact  itself  had  not  been  denied  in  Corinth. 
It  was  supported  by  the  testimony  not  only  of  Paul  himself,  but  also 


120  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

of  Peter,  of  the  apostles,  and  of  five  hundred  brethren  most  of  whom 
were  still  alive.  Paul  had  received  the  account  of  the  death,  the  burial, 
the  resurrection,  and  the  appearances  of  Jesus  from  Jerusalem,  and 
no  doubt  from  Peter  during  the  fifteen  days  which  the  two  apostles 
had  spent  together  three  years  after  Paul's  conversion.  In  I  Cor. 
15  :  1-7  Paul  is  reproducing  the  account  which  the  primitive  Jerusalem 
church  gave  of  its  own  foundation.  And  in  that  account  Christianity 
appears,  not  as  an  aspiration,  not  as  mere  devotion  to  an  ideal  of 
life,  not  as  inculcation  of  a  certain  kind  of  conduct,  but  as  "a  piece  of 
information"  about  something  that  had  actually  happened — namely, 
the  atoning  death  and  glorious  resurrection  of  Jesus  our  Lord. 

The  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians 

The  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians  did  not  end  all  difficulties 
in  the  Corinthian  church.  On  the  contrary,  after  the  writing  of  that 
letter,  certain  miserable  busybodies  had  sought  to  draw  the  Corinthian 
Christians  away  from  their  allegiance  to  the  apostle.  A  brief  visit 
which  Paul  had  made  to  Corinth  had  not  ended  the  trouble.  At  last 
Paul  had  left  Ephesus  in  great  distress.  He  had  passed  through  a 
terrible  personal  danger,  when  he  had  despaired  of  life,  but  more  trying 
still  was  the  thought  of  Corinth.  Finding  no  relief  from  his  troubles 
he  went  to  Troas  and  then  across  to  Macedonia.  There  at  length 
relief  came.  Titus,  Paul's  helper,  arrived  with  good  news  from  Corinth; 
the  church  had  returned  to  its  allegiance.  To  give  expression  to  his 
joy  and  thanksgiving,  Paul  wrote  the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Corin- 
thians. In  the  Epistle  he  also  dealt  with  the  matter  of  the  collection 
for  the  poor  at  Jerusalem,  and  administered  a  last  rebuke  to  the  Corin- 
thian trouble  makers. 

In  I  Corinthians  it  is  the  congregation  that  is  in  the  forefront  of 
interest;  in  II  Corinthians,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  apostle  and 
his  ministry.  In  this  letter,  the  Apostle  Paul  lays  bare  before  his  readers 
the  very  secrets  of  his  heart,  and  reveals  the  glories  of  the  ministry 
which  God  had  intrusted  to  him.  That  ministry  was  the  min- 
istry of  reconciliation.  God  and  men  had  been  separated  by  the 
great  gulf  of  sin,  which  had  brought  men  under  God's  wrath  and 
curse.  Nothing  that  men  could  do  could  possibly  bridge  the  gulf. 
But  what  was  impossible  with  men  was  possible  with  God.  By  the 
redeeming  work  of  Christ  the  gulf  had  been  closed;  all  had  been  made 
right  again  between  God  and  those  for  whom  Christ  died. 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  121 

The  Epistle  to  the  Romans 

Arriving  at  Corinth  Paul  spent  three  months  in  that  city.  During 
this  time  he  wrote  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Paul  was  intending 
to  visit  the  city  of  Rome.  The  church  at  Rome  had  not  been  founded 
by  him;  it  was  important,  therefore,  that  in  order  to  prepare  for  his 
coming  he  should  set  forth  plainly  to  the  Romans  the  gospel  which 
he  proclaimed.  That  is  what  he  does  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans. 
In  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  way  of  salvation  through  Christ  is 
set  forth  more  fully  than  in  any  other  book  of  the  New  Testament. 
In  Galatians  it  is  set  forth  in  a  polemic  way,  when  Paul  was  in  the 
midst  of  a  deadly  conflict  against  a  religion  of  works;  here  it  is  set  forth 
more  calmly  and  more  fully. 

In  the  first  great  division  of  the  Epistle,  Paul  sets  forth  the  universal 
need  of  salvation.  The  need  is  due  to  sin.  All  have  sinned,  and  are 
under  God's  just  wrath  and  curse.  Rom.  1  :  18  to  3  :  20.  But  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  bore  that  curse  for  all  believers,  by  dying  for  them 
on  the  cross;  he  paid  the  just  penalty  of  our  sins,  and  clothed  us  with 
his  perfect  righteousness.  Ch.  3  :  21-31.  This  saving  work  of  Christ, 
and  the  faith  by  which  it  is  accepted,  were  set  forth  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Scriptures.  Ch.  4.  The  result  of  the  salvation  is  peace  with 
God,  and  an  assured  hope  that  what  God  has  begun  through  the  gift 
of  Christ,  he  wiU  bring  to  a  final  completion.  Ch.  5  :  1-11.  Thus, 
as  in  Adam  all  died,  by  sharing  in  the  guilt  of  Adam's  sin,  so  in  Christ 
all  believers  are  made  alive.    Vs.  12-21. 

But,  Paul  goes  on,  the  freedom  which  is  wrought  by  Christ  does 
not  mean  freedom  to  sin;  on  the  contrary  it  means  freedom  from  the 
power  of  sin;  it  means  a  new  life  which  is  led  by  the  power  of  God. 
Ch.  6.  TMiat  the  law  could  not  do,  because  the  power  of  sin  prevented 
men  from  keeping  its  commands,  that  Christ  has  accomplished.  Ch.  7. 
Through  Christ,  believers  have  been  made  sons  of  God;  there  is 
to  them  "no  condemnation";  and  nothing  in  this  world  or  the  next 
shall  separate  them  from  the  love  of  Christ.    Ch.  8. 

Toward  the  spread  of  this  gospel,  Paul  goes  on,  the  whole  course 
of  history  has  been  made  to  lead.  The  strange  dealings  of  God  both 
with  Jews  and  Gentiles  are  part,  of  one  holy  and  mysterious  plan. 
Chs.  9  to  11. 

In  the  last  section  of  the  Epistle,  Paul  shows  how  the  glorious  gospel 
which  he  has  set  forth  results  in  holy  living  from  day  to  day.  Chs. 
12  to  16. 


122  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXI 

1.  What  was  the  occasion  for  the  writing  of  I  Corinthians?  of  II  Corin- 

thians? of  Romans? 

2.  Give  outlines  of  these  three  Epistles. 

LESSON  XXII 
The  First  Imprisonment  of  Paul 

After  the  three  months  which  Paul  spent  at  Corinth  on  the  third 
missionary  journey,  he  went  up  to  Jerusalem  in  order  to  help  bear 
the  gifts  which  he  had  collected  in  the  Gentile  churches  for  the  poor 
of  the  Jerusalem  church.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  number  of  helpers, 
among  them  Luke,  the  writer  of  the  Third  Gospel  and  the  book  of 
The  Acts.  Luke  had  remained  behind  at  Philippi  on  the  second  mis- 
sionary journey,  and  now,  several  years  later,  he  joined  the  apostle 
again.  The  portions  of  the  journey  where  Luke  was  actually  present 
are  narrated  in  The  Acts  in  great  detail  and  with  remarkable  vividness. 

When  Paul  came  to  Miletus  on  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  he  sent  to 
Ephesus  for  the  elders  of  the  Ephesian  church,  and  when  they  came 
he  held  a  notable  farewell  discourse.  There  was  a  touching  scene 
when  he  finally  parted  from  those  who  loved  him  so  weU, 

Acts  21:15  to  28:31 

Despite  prophecies  of  the  imprisonment  that  awaited  him  Paul 
went  bravely  on  to  Jerusalem.  There  he  was  warmly  received  by 
James  the  brother  of  the  Lord  and  by  the  church.  Acts  21  :  15-26. 
But  the  non-Christian  Jews  falsely  accused  him  of  bringing  Gentiles 
with  him  into  the  Temple.  Vs.  27-40.  There  was  an  onslaught  against 
him,  and  he  was  rescued  by  the  Roman  chief  captain,  who  took  him 
into  the  Castle  of  Antonia  which  the  Romans  used  to  guard  the  Temple 
area.  On  the  steps  of  the  castle  he  was  allowed  to  address  the  people, 
ch.  22  : 1-22,  who  listened  to  him  at  first  because  he  used  the  Aramaic 
language  instead  of  Greek,  but  broke  out  against  him  again  when  he 
spoke  of  his  mission  to  the  Gentiles. 

An  appeal  to  his  Roman  citizenship  saved  Paul  from  scourging, 
Acts  22  :  23-29;  and  a  hearing  the  next  day  before  the  sanhedrin, 
ch.  22  :  30  to  23  :  10,  brought  only  a  quarrel  between  the  Sadducees 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  123 

and  the  Pharisees.  That  night  Paul  had  a  comforting  vision  of 
Christ.    V.  11. 

A  plot  of  the  Jews  to  waylay  Paul  and  kill  him  was  frustrated  by 
Paul's  sister's  son,  who  told  the  chief  captain.  The  chief  captain  sent 
the  prisoner  with  an  escort  down  to  Caesarea  where  the  procurator 
Felix  had  his  residence.  Acts  23  :  12-35.  Hearings  before  Felix 
brought  no  decisive  result,  ch.  24,  and  Paul  was  left  in  prison  at  Caesarea 
for  two  years  until  Festus  arrived  as  successor  of  Felix.  Then,  in 
order  to  prevent  being  taken  to  Jerusalem  for  trial,  Paul  exercised 
his  right  as  a  Roman  citizen  by  appealing  to  the  court  of  the  emperor. 
Ch.  25  :  1-12,  Accordingly,  after  a  hearing  before  Herod  Agrippa  II, 
who  had  been  made  king  of  a  realm  northeast  of  Palestine  by  the 
Romans,  v.  13;  ch.  26:32,  Paul  was  sent  as  a  prisoner  to  Rome, 
chs.  27  :  1  to  28  :  16. 

On  the  journey  he  was  accompanied  by  Luke,  who  has  given  a 
detailed  account  of  the  voyage — an  account  which  is  not  only  perhaps 
the  chief  source  of  information  about  the  seafaring  of  antiquity,  but 
also  affords  a  wonderful  picture  of  the  way  Paul  acted  in  a  time  of 
peril.  The  ship  was  wrecked  on  the  island  of  Malta,  and  it  was  not 
until  the  following  spring  that  the  prisoner  was  brought  to  Rome. 
There  he  remained  in  prison  for  two  years,  chained  to  a  soldier  guard, 
but  permitted  to  dwell  in  his  own  hired  house  and  to  receive  visits  from 
his  friends.    Acts  28  :  16-31. 

During  this  first  ,Roman  imprisonment  Paul  wrote  four  of  his 
Epistles — to  the  Colossians  and  to  Philemon,  to  the  Ephesians,  and 
to  the  Philippians.  Colossians,  Philemon,  and  Ephesians  were  all 
written  at  the  same  time.  Colossians  and  Ephesians  were  both  sent 
by  the  same  messenger,  Tychicus,  and  this  messenger  was  accom- 
panied by  Onesimus,  who  bore  the  Epistle  to  Philemon. 

The  Epistle  to  Philemon 

Onesimus  was  a  slave  who  had  run  away  from  Philemon,  his  master. 
He  had  then  been  converted  by  Paul,  and  Paul  was  now  sending  him 
back  to  his  master.  The  little  letter  which  the  apostle  wrote  on  this 
occasion  gives  a  wonderful  picture  of  the  way  in  which  ordinary  social 
relationships  like  that  of  master  and  servant  may  be  made  the  means 
of  expression  for  Christian  love.  Very  beautiful  also  was  the  relation 
between  Philemon  and  the  apostle  through  whom  he  had  been  con- 
verted. 


124  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

The  Epistle  to  the  Colossians 

The  church  at  Colossae,  to  which  the  Epistle  to  the  Colossians  is 
addressed,  had  been  founded  not  by  Paul  but  by  one  of  his  helpers, 
Epaphras.  A  certain  type  of  false  teaching  had  been  brought  into 
the  church  by  those  who  laid  stress  upon  angels  in  a  way  that  was 
harmful  to  the  exclusive  position  of  Christ.  In  reply,  Paul  sets  forth 
in  the  Epistle  the  majesty  of  Jesus,  who  existed  from  all  eternity  and 
was  the  instrument  of  God  the  Father  in  the  creation  of  the  world. 
This  was  no  new  teaching;  it  is  always  presupposed  in  the  earlier 
Epistles  of  Paul,  and  about  it  there  was  no  debate.  But  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians,  in  view  of  the  error  that  was  creeping  in  through  false 
speculation,  Paul  took  occasion  to  set  forth  fully  what  in  the  former 
letters  he  had  presupposed. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians 

The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  is  probably  a  circular  letter  addressed 
to  a  group  of  churches  of  which  Ephesus  was  the  center.  In  this  letter 
the  personal  element  is  less  prominent  than  in  the  other  Pauline  Epistles; 
Paul  allows  his  mind  to  roam  freely  over  the  grand  reaches  of  the  divine 
economy.  The  Church  is  here  especially  in  view.  She  is  represented 
as  the  bride  of  Christ,  and  as  the  culmination  of  an  eternal  and  gracious 
plan  of  God. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Philippians 

The  Epistle  to  the  Philippians  was  probably  written  later  than  the 
other  Epistles  of  the  first  captivity.  The  immediate  occasion  for  the 
writing  of  the  letter  was  the  arrival  of  a  gift  from  the  Philippian 
church,  on  account  of  which  Paul  desires  to  express  his  joy.  Paul  had 
always  stood  in  a  peculiarly  cordial  relation  to  his  Philippian  converts; 
he  had  been  willing,  therefore,  to  receive  gifts  from  them,  although 
in  other  churches  he  had  preferred  to  make  himself  independent  by 
laboring  at  his  trade.  But  the  letter  is  not  concerned  only  or  even 
chiefly  with  the  gifts  of  the  Philippian  church.  Paul  desired  also  to 
inform  his  Philippian  brethren  about  the  situation  at  Rome.  His 
trial  is  approaching;  whether  it  results  in  his  death  or  in  his  release, 
he  is  content.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  expects  to  see  the  Philippians 
again. 

Moreover,  Paul  holds  up  in  the  letter  the  example  of  Christ,  which 
was  manifested  in  the  great  act  of  loving  condescension  by  which  he 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  125 

came  into  the  world  and  endured  for  our  sakes  the  accursed  death  on 
the  cross.  That  humihation  of  Christ,  Paul  says,  was  followed  by 
exaltation;  God  has  now  given  to  Jesus  the  name  that  is  above  every 
name. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  two  years  in  prison  in  Rome,  Paul  was 
released,  probably  in  a.d.  63.  This  fact  is  attested  not  by  the  book 
of  The  Acts,  of  which  the  narrative  closes  at  the  end  of  the  two  years 
at  Rome,  but  by  the  Pastoral  Epistles  of  Paul  and  also  by  an  Epistle 
of  Clement  of  Rome  which  was  written  at  about  a.d.  95.  Clement 
says  that  Paul  went  to  Spain.  This  he  probably  did  immediately 
after  his  release.  He  then  went  to  the  East  again,  for  it  was  in  the 
East  that  I  Timothy  and  Titus  were  written. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXII 

1.  Outline  the  events  in  the  life  of  Paul  which  occurred  between  the 

departure  from  Corinth  and  the  end  of  the  first  Roman  imprison- 
ment. 

2.  \Vhat  was  the  occasion  for  the  writing  of  Colossians?  of  Philemon? 

of  Ephesians?  of  Philippians? 

3.  Give  outlines  of  these  Epistles. 


LESSON  XXIII 
The  Close  of  the  Apostolic  Age 

The  Pastoral  Epistles 

It  was  observed  in  the  last  lesson  that  Paul  was  released  from  his 
first  Roman  imprisonment,  and  went  then  to  Spain  and  then  to  the 
East.  At  the  time  when  I  Timothy  was  written  he  has  just  left  Timothy 
behind  at  Ephesus  when  he  himself  has  gone  into  Macedonia,  and 
now  writes  the  letter  with  instructions  for  Timothy  as  to  the  way  of 
conducting  the  affairs  of  the  church.  Similarly,  the  Epistle  to  Titus 
was  written  to  guide  Titus  in  his  work  on  the  island  of  Crete. 

After  this  last  period  of  activity  in  the  East,  Paul  was  imprisoned 
again  at  Rome.  During  this  second  Roman  imprisonment  he  wrote 
II  Timothy,  to  encourage  Timothy  and  instruct  him,  and  to  give 
to  him  and  to  the  Church  a  farewell  message  just  before  his  own  death, 
which  he  was  expecting  very  soon. 


126  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

The  two  Epistles  to  Timothy  and  the  Epistle  to  Titus,  which  are 
called  the  Pastoral  Epistles,  are  similar  to  one  another  in  important 
respects.  They  all  lay  stress  upon  soundness  of  teaching  and  upon 
the  organization  of  the  Church.  In  the  closing  years  of  his  life  Paul 
provided  for  the  permanence  of  his  work;  the  period  of  origination 
was  over  and  the  period  of  conservation  had  begun.  It  was  not  God's 
will  that  every  Christian  generation  should  have  revealed  to  it  anew 
the  whole  of  the  gospel.  What  is  true  in  one  age  is  true  in  all  ages. 
It  was  a  salutary  thing,  therefore,  that  the  Pastoral  Epistles  provided 
for  the  preservation  of  the  faith  which  was  once  for  all  delivered  unto 
the  saints. 

Soon  after  the  writing  of  II  Timothy,  Paul  was  beheaded  at  Rome. 
This  event,  which  is  attested  in  altogether  credible  Christian  tradition 
outside  of  the  New  Testament,  took  place  within  the  reign  of  the 
Emperor  Nero — that  is,  before  a.d.  68.  At  the  time  of  the  great  fire 
at  Rome  in  a.d.  64  Nero  had  persecuted  the  Christians,  as  is  narrated 
by  Tacitus,  the  Roman  historian.  But  at  that  time  Paul  probably 
escaped  by  being  out  of  the  city;  his  execution  probably  did  not  occur 
until  several  years  later. 

At  about  the  time  of  the  death  of  Paul  disastrous  events  were  tak- 
ing place  in  Palestine.  James  the  brother  of  the  Lord  had  been  put 
to  death  by  the  Jews  in  a.d.  62,  according  to  Josephus  the  Jewish 
historian,  or  a  few  years  later  according  to  another  account.  In  a.d.  66 
the  Jews  rose  in  revolt  against  the  Romans.  In  the  war  that  fol- 
lowed there  was  a  terrible  siege  of  Jerusalem.  Before  the  siege  the 
Christians  in  the  city  had  fled  to  Pella,  east  of  the  Jordan.  Jerusalem 
was  captured  by  the  Romans  in  a.d.  70,  and  the  Temple  destroyed. 

From  that  time  on,  the  Church  in  Palestine  ceased  to  be  of  great 
relative  importance;  the  gospel  had  passed  for  the  most  part  to  the 
Gentiles.  A  number  of  the  apostles  remained  for  many  years,  how- 
ever, to  guide  and  instruct  the  Church,  and  important  books  of  the 
New  Testament  were  written  in  this  period  either  by  the  apostles 
themselves  or  by  those  who  stood  under  their  direction. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews 

Even  before  the  destruction  of  the  Temple,  the  original  disciples 
had  begun  to  labor  far  and  wide  among  the  Gentiles.  It  was  perhaps 
during  this  early  period  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  written. 
The  name  of  the  author  is  unknown,  but  the  book  is  truly  apostolic 


NEW    TESTAMENT    TIMES  127 

— that  is,  it  was  written  either  by  an  apostle  or  by  one  who  wrote 
under  the  direction  of  the  apostles.  The  Epistle  is  intended  to  celebrate 
the  all-sufficiency  of  Christ  as  the  great  High  Priest,  who  has  made 
atonement  by  his  own  blood,  as  distinguished  from  the  Old  Testament 
types  that  were  intended  to  point  forward  to  him. 

The  First  Epistle  of  Peter 

Some  years  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  the  apostle  Peter 
left  Palestine.  In  the  course  of  his  missionary  journeys  he  went  to 
Rome,  and  it  was  perhaps  from  Rome  that  he  wrote  the  First  Epistle 
of  Peter,  the  word  "Babylon"  in  I  Peter  5  :  13  being  perhaps  a  figurative 
designation  of  Rome  as  the  "Babylon"  of  that  age.  The  Epistle  was 
addressed  to  Christians  in  Asia  Minor,  and  was  intended  to  encourage 
the  readers  to  Christian  fortitude  in  the  midst  of  persecution.  The 
gospel  proclaimed  in  the  Epistle  is  the  one  great  apostolic  gospel  of 
Christ's  redeeming  work  which  was  also  proclaimed  by  Paul. 

The  Second  Epistle  of  Peter ;  The  Epistle  of  Jude 

The  Second  Epistle  of  Peter  was  written  by  the  apostle  to  warn 
his  readers  against  false  teaching  and  urge  them  to  be  faithful  to  the 
authority  of  the  apostles  and  of  the  Scriptures.  Closely  related  to 
II  Peter  is  the  Epistle  of  Jude,  which  was  written  by  one  of  the  brothers 
of  Jesus.  The  apostle  Peter,  in  accordance  with  a  thoroughly  credible 
Christian  tradition,  finally  suffered  a  martyr's  death  at  Rome. 

The  apostle  John,  the  son  of  Zebedee,  became  the  head  of  the  Church 
in  Asia  Minor,  where,  at  Ephesus,  he  lived  until  nearly  the  end  of  the 
first  century.  During  this  period  he  wrote  five  books  of  the  New 
Testament. 

The  Gospel  According  to  John  was  written  to  supplement  the  other 
three  Gospels  which  had  long  been  in  use.  It  contains  much  of  the 
most  precious  and  most  profound  teaching  of  our  Lord,  as  it  had  been 
stored  up  in  the  memory  of  the  "beloved  disciple";  and  it  presents 
the  glory  of  the  Word  of  God  as  that  glory  had  appeared  on  earth  to 
an  eyewitness. 

The  Epistles  of  John 

The  First  Epistle  of  John  was  written  in  order  to  combat  certain 
errors  which  were  creeping  into  the  Church  in  Asia  Minor  and  in 
order  to  present  to  the  readers  the  true  Christian  life  of  love,  founded 


128  TEACHING  THE  TEACHER 

upon  the  Son  of  God  who  had  come  in  the  flesh,  and  begun  by  the 
new  birth  which  makes  a  man  a  child  of  God. 

The  Second  Epistle  of  John  is  a  very  brief  letter  written  to  warn 
an  individual  church  of  the  same  kind  of  error  as  is  combated  in  I  John. 

The  Third  Epistle  is  addressed  to  an  individual  Christian  named 
Gains,  who  is  praised  for  his  hospitality  to  visiting  missionaries,  which 
was  the  more  praiseworthy  because  it  was  in  contrast  to  the  inhospitalitj^ 
of  a  certain  Diotrephes.  The  little  letter  sheds  a  flood  of  light  upon 
the  details  of  congregational  life  in  the  last  period  of  the  Apostolic 

Age. 

The  Book  of  Revelation 

The  book  of  Revelation  is  based  upon  a  revelation  which  the  apostle 
John  had  received  during  a  banishment  to  the  island  of  Patmos,  off 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  not  far  from  Ephesus.  Probably  the  book 
itself  was  written  on  the  same  island.  The  book  contains  letters  to 
seven  churches  of  western  Asia  Mmor  which  are  intended  to  encourage 
or  warn  them  in  accordance  with  the  needs  of  every  individual  con- 
gregation. The  whole  book  is  a  tremendous  prophecy,  which  strengthens 
the  faith  of  the  Church  in  the  midst  of  persecutions  and  trials  by 
revealing  the  plan  of  God,  especially  as  it  concerns  the  second  coming 
of  our  Lord  and  the  end  of  the  world.  Details  of  future  events,  espe- 
cially times  and  seasons,  are  not  intended  to  be  revealed,  but  rather 
great  principles  both  of  good  and  of  evil,  which  manifest  themselves 
in  various  ways  in  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Church.  The  prophecj^ 
however,  will  receive  its  highest  and  final  fulfillment  only  when  our 
Lord  shall  come  again,  and  bring  in  the  final  reign  of  righteousness 
and  the  blessedness  of  those  whom  he  has  redeemed. 

QUESTIONS  ON   LESSON  XXIII 

L  When,  where,  and  why  were  the  three  Pastoral  Epistles  written? 

2.  Outline  the  life  of  Paul  after  his  release  from  the  first  Roman  im- 

prisonment. 

3.  What  is  known  about  the  latter  part  of  the  life  of  Peter? 

4.  What  was  the  occasion  for  the  writing  of  I  Peter?  of  II  Peter?  of 

Jude?    What  are  the  characteristics  of  these  letters? 

5.  What  is  known  about  the  latter  part  of  the  life  of  John? 

(5.  What  were  the  date  and  the  purpose  of  the  Gospel  According  to 
John;  of  the  Epistles  of  John;  of  the  book  of  Revelation. 


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